Across America With The King Of The Belgians

Across
King of the

BY

PIERRE GOEMAERE

AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION FROM THB FRENCH
BY

BEATRICE SORCHAN

NEW YOBK

E. P. BUTTON & COMPANY
681 FIFTH AVENUE

COMPAISTY

Mights

In tie Tfnlted State* of America

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON " . . 1

II. NEW YORK 24

III. PROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PAOITIO ... 39

IV. CALIFORNIA * . 78

V. FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC ... 96

VI. WASHINGTON 131

VII. COMING HOME FROM AMERICA: THE ISLES or THE

BLEST 143

ACROSS AMERICA WITH THE
KING OF THE BELGIANS

ACROSS AMERICA

WITH

THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

CHAPTER I

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON"

THESE first lines are my preface. It is prob-
ably not placed where authors usually
place their prefaces, but I must confess that I
mingled it in with the text so that the reader
could recognize it and avoid it only with the
greatest difficulty. The war introduced camou-
flage into the matters of every day life. People
very rarely read a preface ; they don't like to be
warned ahead of time. Musset advised against
reading "foolish prefaces." Critics are the only
ones who read them, and then chiefly because it
often enables them to dispense with reading the
rest of the book. As far as I am concerned, how-
ever, I have camouflaged my preface only so that
the reader may know that this is not an official

2 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

account of the King's journey to the United
States, but the independent and personal obser-
vations of a privileged individual, who, having
the honor of accompanying his sovereign over
there, jotted down in these pages his impressions
and souvenirs of the trip.

I must confess that two months ago I had not
the slightest intention of writing this book. I
thought I had satisfied my need for expression in
newspaper articles and lectures. But as the days
go by, souvenirs come back and more mature im-
pressions are born again.

The splendor of that journey still haunts my
memory, like that shepherd in the Provencal
legend who, after having looked too long at the
sun, kept some of its light in his eyes. My ears
still have the echo of a great applause.

I shall endeavor therefore to bring back some
image of all this by noting day by day from the
very beginning the impressions and observations
made on His Majesty's trip through the great
American Republic.

I had just boarded the "George Washington.' 9
The huge ship sent over by the American govern-
ment to convey the King to the United States

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 3

was swaying in the middle of the Channel near
Calais, between France and England. She drew
so much water that she could not come any
nearer to either coast The boat had been fitted
up in a manner worthy of the great persons she
was going to receive ; she was all ready, with her
decks waxed, her brass glittering and her pen-
ants flying in the breeze.

Everybody was waiting for the King, the cap-
tain, the crew and my humble self. There was
also on the deck a dignified, silent individual,
faultlessly buttoned up in his jacket, an im-
portant personage, apparently. His whiskers
and hard protruding chin marked him as a per-
fect type of Yankee, doubtless some emissary
from the American government. As I speak Eng-
lish atrociously and had some doubts on that
subject for the future, I decided that it was a
good opportunity to make a beginning and be-
come familiar with the language. I prepared my
sentence with great care and approached this im-
posing official.

"Excuse me, sir. Perhaps you are waiting
too for the King of Belgium."

The man looked at me. He did not seem to
have understood. It was my pronunciation, of

4 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

course. I repeated the question more distinctly.

"Hein?" he said.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, sir," I continued in
French. "I did not know you spoke both lan-
guages. You are also waiting for the King, are
you not?"

"Yes, sir. I am waiting for His Majesty. I
am his valet!"

The condescension and haughtiness of that re-
mark ! You are also waiting for the King, I had
said. That "also" was so candid. . . . You see
the difference between the emotions with which
the man who gets out His Majesty's bedroom slip-
pers was waiting and those of a useless mortal
like myself.

Still, my meeting with this valet gave me the
idea of undertaking a secret exploration through
the apartments destined for Their Majesties. I
went hurriedly down into the heart of the ship.
How elegant and luxurious was the suite which
had been decorated for royalty! It consisted
first of a private salon and dining-room. In the
salon were musical instruments, books and por-
traits by American artists. Opposite the King's
bedroom was a study where, among other ap-
paratus created by American ingenuity, I noticed

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 5

a wireless telephone which carried three hun-
dred miles.

The Queen's apartment was more coquettish.
There was a bedroom with mahogany wainscot-
ing upholstered in old rose. All the furniture
was of mahogany. There was also a pretty
boudoir with furniture covered with red flowered
tapestry. On the tables were electric lamps with
shades decorated with painted flowers and
branches. Among the masses of fresh flowers I
noticed a special preponderance of red dahlias,
particularly popular in America. The suite pre-
pared for Prince Leopold was also charming and
was finished in lemon-wood.

Suddenly, however, I was interrupted in my
investigations by the terrible roar of a cannon
which shook the huge hull of the ship. All
around me people were shouting and cheering.
Officers were dashing through the passages and
sailors bumped against each other on the stairs.
What was the matter? A few months ago it
would have meant that an enemy submarine was
insight. , ,

I went up on deck in haste. All the crew was
lined up for dress parade; the gunners were at
their places. The gun that had just gone off was

6 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

smoking slightly. Over the bridge leaned the
captain, studying the horizon through his field-
glasses. I also looked in the same direction and
saw three ships appearing from the direction of
Ostende. They were the American destroyers
bringing the King and Queen and Prince Leo-
pold. Like real ocean greyhounds they bounded
over the waves and sped towards us in a puff of
smoke. They reached us and came up alongside
of the vessel. As the King boarded the "George
Washington" all of the guns were shot off simul-
taneously and their thunder went rolling to-
wards the cliffs of Calais.

The King and Queen and Prince Leopold im-
mediately went to their rooms and the tumult
gave way to absolute silence. The crew closed
the port-holes, muzzled the guns and lowered the
flags. The three destroyers which had brought
the royal guests surrounded the "George Wash-
ington. " Suddenly the ship's siren blew a tre-
mendous blast; the rigging vibrated and great
clouds of black smoke poured forth from the
stacks. With the grating of the windlass the an-
chors were dragged up from the sand to which
they clung, and slowly, without a jar, like a train
which pulls smoothly out of a station, the vessel

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 7,

glided out on the huge ocean. We were off!
Calais faded from view in the distant fog and
soon disappeared entirely, while the coast of
England became clearer and clearer with its
cliffs gilded by the rays of the sun. Neverthe-
less, when the royal passengers came up on deck
after a six o'clock dinner, land was no longer in
sight. The ship had left the neck of the channel
and was speedily plowing the first waters of the
Atlantic. We were to stay on that immense
ocean for nine days. Nine successive times
would the sun sparkle and become extinguished
on the gray uniformity of that moving landscape.

As soon as he was on board the "George Wash-
ington," the King had the Belgian reporters who
were accompanying him on the trip presented to
him. I shall give a description of that interview
in order to reveal some of the traits of His
Majesty's character. Leaning with his back
against the railing with his hands in his pockets,
the King talked good-naturedly for a long while,
warning his interrogators to give no official in-
terpretation to his statements. He led the con-
versation to different subjects without any pre-
conceived idea, but outlined in particular the

8 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

aim of his trip to the United States, which was
to bind more solidly than ever the friendly rela-
tions between that country and Belgium.

Changing to another subject, he praised the ad-
vantages of sports in the physical development
of youth. "In the American colleges and uni-
versities," he said, "sport is perfectly reconciled
to study. We should imitate that. Look at the
healthy development of our young men who came
back from the trenches. These youths have also
gained morally. Their characters are more
serious, their souls deeper."

As somebody remarked here that some young
men had come back from the war with a crav-
ing for adventure which interfered with their
desire for routine work, His Majesty answered:
"Our Congo needs just such young men. Let
them go there and carry with them their energy
and initiative."

King Albert has made a special study of the
living conditions in our great African colony.
He is perfectly familiar with the climate and its
dangers, but knows, however, the way in which
to protect one's self. One can judge by this re-
partie : "Malaria and other illnesses of that coun-

ON BOAED THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON"

try are easily cured to-day if they are treated
in time."

"But the fevers which are so deadly, Sire, how
can one protect one's self against them?"

"By a daily dose of quinine and an upright
conduct." That was His Majesty's answer.

As has often been said before, the King ex-
presses himself with great deliberation, but his
choice of words is extremely judicious. He
knows the proper word; his sentences are so
regularly constructed that they could be written
as well as spoken. One is aware of a remarkable
power of attention on the part of our Sovereign.
Whether he is talking with two or with ten peo-
ple, he follows each individual's opinions care-
fully and discerns their exact shades. He looks
at the speaker with his blue eyes in a way which
is singularly keen and penetrating without being
aggressive. As his conversation shows great eru-
dition, the conclusions which he draws reveal
uncommon intellectual power.

The life of the royal guests on board the
"George Washington" was simple and quiet. The
captain of the ship had attached a gunner of the
marines to the King's person as well as to that of

10 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

the Queen and Prince. These marines were or-
dered to follow the august passengers wherever
they went, keeping five feet behind them. The
very first hour the King asked to be freed from
this pomp which was doubtless very ornamental
but entirely superfluous to a sovereign who has
not the traits of a Hoheiizollern. The Queen ex-
pressed the same desire. As for the Prince,
whom we wanted to nickname the little Prince
of Melancholy, he hardly seemed to have noticed
the man who silently dogged his footsteps.

The King wore the undress uniform of a gen-
eral. No braid, no trimmings distinguished him
from the officers of his suite. This simplicity
of appearance delighted the American officers,
who also admired his fine physique. For it must
be said that one of the reasons, doubtless second-
ary but nevertheless powerful, for the popular-
ity which immediately surrounded our King, was
his nobility of bearing, physical comeliness,
and hardy complexion. With the Americans
who are rather naive and even primitive in cer-
tain respects, the external appearance of a man
has an extraordinary influence on the prestige
which he command. Indications of this were
found everywhere in the newspapers which

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 11

took pleasure in describing the King's appear-
ance, and especially in their exclamations. How
many times as the King passed by did I hear the
words : "What a fine-looking man !"

When the King was not reading, he would
walk about the deck, wandering here and there
like a mere idler, stopping to talk to anybody he
happened to meet, whether officer or plain sailor.
He frequently walked up and down alone, being
fond of solitude. A dreamer by nature, one often
saw him leaning against the railing where he
would remain for a time gazing off into space.

What was he thinking of in these moments?
Perhaps of the great glory which was waiting
for him over there, of the triumphal reception
which the American people were preparing for
him, rumors of which reached us every day by
wireless. Perhaps he was simply delighted by
the great expanse stretched out before his gaze,
in the face of that horizon which, in spite of
the course of the ship, still remained as far away
as ever. This King, in spite of his extraordinary
moral greatness, may perhaps have felt infinitesi-
mally small on this moving abyss, this gigantic
globe, unless, indeed, this globe on which we
were revolving so rapidly that we caught up with

12 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

the course of the sun did not seem small to him.
We had to set our watches back a whole half hour
every morning. We had only been gone three
days. At the time of which I am thinking it was
five o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was
beating down upon the ocean, while over there in
Europe where it was after seven, night had en-
circled everything.

As we went forward, it grew warmer and
warmer. We were thus catching up with sum-
mer. Having left the continent in the first chills
of our autumn, we were to arrive in the United
States during the hot season. The King was very
probably thinking how small the globe was, un-
less . . . But I must stop. Is it not bold and
irreverent to try to guess the private thoughts
of a King who is dreaming while leaning against
the railing of a ship?

The simplicity of dress which the American
officers admired in our King was also apparent
in the Queen. She always appeared dressed in
white, wearing a woolen gown in the morning
and a silk one in the evening. Her manner was
always charming and unaffected. She smiled
amiably at all whose glance met hers. It was
Queen Elizabeth's smile that won the hearts of

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 13

the huge American crowds later. It became
famous. All the newspapers talked of it. Some
called it stereotyped, but they judged it prob-
ably by different photographs which appeared in
magazines and newspapers. In a photograph,
however, one's smile is always the same, it is con-
gealed. Those, howevfer, who come near the
Queen know its genuineness and the thousand
shades of meaning w^hich she can express. I
should endeavor to describe them if I were not
certain that if it is irreverent to penetrate the
intimate thoughts of a king, it is even less per-
missible to analyze the smile of a queen.

Queen Elizabeth showed a particular liking
for the different games on board. Her skill at
quoits was remarkable. It was a charming sight
to see that little Queen, so light and slender in
her white dress, clap her hands for joy over a
successful shot. One day I turned to General
Jacques, who was watching the scene with an
amused air, and said to him :

"Well, General, are you not going to play?"
The hero of Dixmude answered me with one
of those frank laughs which seem to come from
his everlasting fount of gaiety :

14 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

"What, I throw quoits! You do not really
mean it! It would ruin my prestige."

Prince Leopold did not care much for the
games. He watched them at a distance with the
air of sadness which I have already noted. lie is
also a dreamer by nature like his father. Being
rather tall for his eighteen years, he is at the
awkward age at which a youth finds that it is
difficult to know what to do with hands and feet.
Timid by nature, he blushes easily. During
audiences he observes his father's attitude atten-
tively. He is visibly anxious to learn the busi-
ness of being a king. He shows himself desirous
of an intimate knowledge of all matters, He
walked all over the ship, from bow to stern, pay-
ing attention to everything with which he was
unfamiliar. Although he had visited more than
one steamer, he greatly admired the "George
Washington."

I have spoken of a floating city in talking of
this ship. I will let the reader judge for him-
self.

In addition to a store where all articles neces-
sary to the toilet are sold, together with accesso-
ries such as cigars, cigarettes and candy, there
are a tailor's shop on board, a laundry, a dental

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 15

parlor, and a drug-store, next to which is a hospi-
tal with a surgical room. Next to the post-office
and the purser's office is the hairdresser's where
three barbers are continually at work. Here, as
everywhere, one is also struck with that regard
for comfort which is one of the main traits of the
American character. Lying rather than sitting
in an armchair which resembles a bed more than
a chair, one feels the razor stroke one's cheek
with a gentleness entirely ignored by our Euro-
pean barbers. But it is after this operation that
the seance begins to be agreeable. After apply-
ing a hot towel to your cheeks, the barber with
his hands dripping with unctuous oil starts to
massage your face, forehead, ears, nose, and neck,
after which comes another massage with a second
oiling, and then a third. Then he presses your
neck, pinches your nostrils and boxes your
cheeks, and everything is done with a rapidity
which is so delightful that it seems like the vir-
tuosity of an artist. One leaves the barber shop
of the "George Washington" feeling better oiled
and curled than Petronne when he left the hands
of his masseurs.

The passengers were very much delighted when
they got out of bed in the morning to receive their

19 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

morning paper. It was the ship's newspaper
which came to us still damp from the press. This
press provided the bills of fare, the programs of
concerts and other entertainments, as well as the
visiting-cards which were seen on the door of
every cabin giving the names and titles of every-
body on board from the King down.

The paper, called "The Hatchet/' and having
as its motto "I cannot tell a lie," gets its news
by wireless and tells its readers what is hap-
pening all over the world. The King and his
suite were thus able to follow events in Belgium
as well as in Italy. They read about d'Annunzio
and Fiume, and the defeats of the Bolsheviks
with the first rumors of the death of Lenine.

Different subjects are also treated in "The
Hatchet," literary, historical and philosophical.
They gave me the honor of asking me to write
an article. I wrote on the Belgian secret press,
knowing that the Americans were very curious
about the mystery of the newspapers which con-
tinued to appear during the occupation. This
article was so popular that I found it published
in the newspapers on my arrival in New York.

The American sense of humor is not lacking
in the "Hatchet." Thus one finds oil the title-

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 17

page this statement : "The largest circulation on
the Atlantic Ocean."

I wish to say a few words about the movies be-
cause they made several hours of that long cross-
ing pass very pleasantly. Every night after din-
ner there was a moving-picture performance in
the great hall of the "George Washington." It
was strange to notice in these dramas and
comedies certain American characteristics among
which is a reverence for loyalty and integrity
and at the same time a strong hatred of malice
and lack of faith. The Americans especially ad-
mire energy and strength of will. In their plays
the hero is always a paragon of strength and in-
tegrity. The actors make very few gestures, but
their faces are full of expression. When I say
few gestures, however, I am speaking, of course,
of the dramas. Because when it is a question of
comedy, Good Lord, what an avalanche of thrusts
with swords and revolvers, shots, or kicks and
attacks with teeth and fists! Americans are
grown-up children; they laugh at an upset and
certain drolleries even make them weep.

The night the King came on board a film of
great pathos was going on. The jealous lover
was advancing cunningly towards his rival, re-

18 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

volver in hand. The audience followed the scene,
straining their necks forward, their eyes fixed on
the screen. In order to intensify the emotion, a
negro had been placed in the wings to fire off a
pistol the moment the hero fired his. It hap-
pened that the negro's pistol went off a few sec-
onds before that of the hero. This incident,
purely burlesque, which merely made us Euro-
peans smile, created such hilarity that it
drowned the orchestra, the noise of the ocean
and the sound of the engines. If a steamer had
crossed us at this moment, it would have heard
the "George Washington" laughing!

Jokes of the same sort are found in some of
their plays. In one scene two actors were carry-
ing on a serious conversation. All of a sudden,
without any warning, one of the actors kicked
the hat of his companion onto the floor. The
companion made a face, a pirouette, and then as
if nothing had happened, the play went solemnly
on while the audience was choking and shaking
with laughter.

The King spent some mornings reviewing the
crew of the "George Washington" and the Ameri-
can troops which the ship was bringing home.

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 19

The sailors would line up on the upper deck and
the soldiers on the lower. The sailors' uniforms
are very effective. This military mid-Atlantic
review made by our King was a wonderful sight.
While the strains of the Belgian national anthem
went out to sea, the tall figure of the Sovereign
dominated those lines of white caps among which
he walked, his hand on his cap.

After the review, the King and his suite were
invited to visit the ship's machinery. We went
down into that dungeon of fire and iron where
the organs of the monster are hidden, penetrating
into that formidable heart whose pulsations re-
verberate through the structure like Wows from
a hammer. We saw its gigantic lungs colossal
pistons and its huge stomach a gaping fur-
nace stoked by men with naked torsos. As we
went down the circular staircase to the bottom
of the funnel, we felt as if we were being trans-
ported into one of those fantastic workshops
described by Jules Verne in the "Cent Millions
de la Begum." At the bottom of the abyss we
found ourselves forty feet below sea level. The
oppressive and burning atmosphere of the oil,
the trepidation and uproar of the revolving

20 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

cranks, enormous cylinders, gnawing gears, and
roaring screws, made us flee from there as if it
were the infernal regions.

One evening the crew organized different
games in honor of Prince Leopold obstacle
races, sack races, wrestling and boxing matches.
They were very successful. At the end the
Prince gave prizes to the winners scarf pins,
cigarette cases, and wrist watches. The King
and Queen watched these games with interest.
During the boxing matches, however, the Queen
did not seem to appreciate that art of bruising
the face. An expression of pity rather than en-
joyment could be read on her face.

Prince Leopold, on the other hand, did not
miss a single phase of the fights. He confided to
me that he had often practiced sports while at
school at Eton. One night he heard a journalist
boasting to one of his colleagues of being an ac-
complished master in the art of pugilism.

"If I do not give you a demonstration right
away," the man concluded, "it is because I have
not got my boxing-gloves with me."

"You need not let that prevent you," inter-
rupted the Prince. "Mine are in my cabin and I
will willingly lend them to you."

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 21

It was difficult to realize the muscular strength
of that boy of eighteen whom at a distance one
might consider undeveloped. Are you familiar
with deck tennis which is played without a
racket, with a big leather ball which you throw
across the net in the hope that your adversary
on account of its weight and impetus will be
unable to hold it and will let it slip to the
ground? His Highnesses fancy led him one day
to choose me as his opponent in deck-tennis. In
recalling that game I can still feel the sensa-
tion of the shots which the so-called "Little
Prince" hurled at my stomach!

Prince Leopold seems to have a generous and
upright character. His mind when he is inter-
ested is wide awake and brilliant.

I have already given the King's ideas on sport.
He is so convinced of its salutory effect I mean
athletic and not savage sport that he practices
it himself. For exercise he played deck tennis
for an hour every morning. His great height
and remarkable strength especially, made him a
"King" of deck tennis. At the risk of being
indiscreet I will say that one day I saw him
knock the officers on board breathless in a few

22 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

moments although they had practiced the game
a great deal.

A long while ago the King had instituted a
prize of 25,000 francs to be given to the author
of a treatise on the best method of introducing
physical exercises into our public schools and col-
leges. At the time at which I am writing
(March, 1920) the papers announce that the
prize is to be given to two Belgian authors, Mr.
J. Demoor, and Mr. Fosseprez, for their work on
"How a free people can acquire strength and
health."

Moreover, astonishing as it may seem, the
royal guest of the "George Washington" with
his prestige of moral loyalty, his simple and
democratic appearance, handsome carriage and
skill as a sportsman, had from the very first
minute become the idol of the crew. There was
not a cabin in which his picture was not found,
as later on after his journey through the towns
of the United States, there could not have been a
house in which his name was not reverenced.

Thus on this luxurious boat fitted out with all
the comforts of life, our King went to America.
What made the trip on that boat even more in-
teresting, however, was the fact that the "George

ON BOARD THE "GEORGE WASHINGTON" 23

Washington" had been built in 1903 by the Ger-
mans and captured in 1914 by the American
navy. Until then it was in the gorgeous salons
of this ship that the Kaiser Wilhelm II made his
ocean journeys. How ironical and yet how just
fate had shown herself ! This "George Washing-
ton" on which the imperial pirate had dreamed
one day of traveling over conquered seas after
having stolen the crown of the little Kingdom of
Belgium, this very ship was now carrying its
ruler, Albert I, who had become the greatest king
in history, towards generous America which was
ready to pay homage to his glorious fame!

That night the sun set on a radiantly calm
sea, going down like a ball of fire directly in
front of the ship. We were sailing right towards
that red light which seemed to come from the
shores of America, still invisible but soon to be
reached. Leaning over the railing in the re-
flection of that purple glow, it seemed to me that
it was the first ray of the crown of glory which
the American people were preparing to place on
the forehead of our King.

CHAPTER II

NEW YORK

IT soon appeared, that long-looked-f or America,
before the eyes of the royal traveler who had
been sailing towards it for nine days. The first
glimpse he had of it was indeed charming. While
his gaze was searching the line of the horizon
toward the West in the hope of sighting land,
black specks suddenly rose from that line and
grew larger and larger as they drew near. They
were six aeroplanes, graceful messengers of the
air, by means of which America was sending us
her first greeting. They came at great speed to-
ward the ship, and flew so close, almost grazing
her masts, that it seemed as if they wished to
caress her with their wings.

Suddenly, we saw the shores of the new world
and gradually the panorama of the Hudson un-
rolled before our eyes. Numerous cottages and
villas, rather like Swiss chalets in their style of
architecture, were scattered on the side of the

24

NEW YORK 25

cliffs of the shore. What a charming sight the
verdure of those cliffs presented to our eyes ! In
spite of the mist they seemed so luxuriant, and
their coloring was so bright that the eyes of all,
still full of the unending gray uniformity of the
ocean, remained fixed on them in delightful ec-
stasy.

Five large American destroyers flying the
Belgian colors formed our retinue. The aero-
planes roared over our heads, Ships of every
sort passed us by and overtook us, from warships
with steel hulls down to the ferry which carried
on its deck an entire train, and the trans-At-
lantic giant which was conveying its thousands
of passengers to some distant port. As a sign of
greeting all those boats blew their sirens or fired
volleys from their guns, filling the harbor with a
great noise. Heavy clouds of smoke coming forth
from the funnels of steamers and factory chim-
neys darkened the sky. This scene reminded me
of the etchings of Pennell. It was indeed the
port of New York with its smoke and fog out of
which rose the hum of great labor and incessant,
feverish activity. On the shore, piled up like
ghosts in the fog, were gigantic factories, steel
docks to which were moored barges of every size

26 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

whose long-necked cranes were outlined against
the sky. Suddenly, right before us in the middle
of the river a statue appeared, tall as a tower,
raising its torch up in the sky and seeming to
cry out to all those arriving amid the noise and
the sarabands of smoke : "This is great New York,
the capital of the world, the royal city of busi-
ness, noise, life and gold!"

And now, right behind the statue, towering
above it, piercing the smoke and clouds, like
giants stretching their necks immoderately in
order to see better out of their thousand eyes,
appeared the sky-scrapers of New York. From
their heights they seemed to lean over the river,
staring curiously in order to find out what was
going on and see the visitor whose arrival was
creating such disturbance.

What was in reality occurring was at the same
time simple and magnificent. The "George
Washington" had come up alongside of a huge
pier projecting into the Hudson. A gangway
was thrown across. And while from the shores
decorated with flags the Brabangonne echoed to
the sky, the King, pale and stately, whose tall
figure seemed to us at that moment surrounded
by a halo of light and glory, passed over the

NEW YORK 27

bridge and set foot on the earth of the New
World. He was the first sovereign whom the
great American democracy had ever welcomed
officially.

Because of the absence of President Wilson,
who was ill at the time, the Vice-President, Mr.
Marshall, with Secretary of State Lansing and
Brand Whitlock, American Minister to Belgium,
at his side, came up to the King and said :

"Sire, the New World, as it is called over there
in Europe, has already received many great and
illustrious visitors. Ever since Christopher Co-
lumbus discovered this continent, numerous per-
sons who have landed here have been well re-
ceived by the American people. Today, how-
ever, there is not a single man among this people,
noted for its love of liberty, fidelity, justice and
energy, who does not bow down before you, Sire,
the champion of integrity and loyalty, before
you, the King, who preferred the Via Dolorosa to
all others because it was the way of honor."

The orator ended with this splendid peroration,
the sublime eloquence of which cannot fail to
be admired:

"I bid you welcome to this republic, O great-
est King of the most courageous people history

28 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

has ever known. Corne to us with your honored
flag which you have kept unravished. Come
among a people who love fidelity and courage,
you who at the same time that you were show-
ing the world that treaties are not scraps of
paper, were also showing that the words Faith
and Loyalty must be placed above Crown and
Kingdom."

When the frantic demonstration with which
this speech was welcomed had ceased, we waited
for the King's answer. Our Sovereign, however,
could hardly speak. His throat was choked with
emotion. In broken phrases and a voice hardly
intelligible, he thanked the Vice-President in the
following beautiful words:

"I bring to great America the infinite gratitude
of my little people."

This was the reception of the American gov-
ernment, the official greeting of the Republic.
Another welcome, however, was to exceed it, a
welcome still more moving because nothing could
control it in its spontaneity and warmth the
welcome of the American people.

In order, however, to realize the unprecedented
warmth of this reception, one must think for a
moment what New York is really like, this great

NEW YORK 29

and vibrating city, a veritable Babel where all
languages are spoken and all races mixed, a
caravansary of all the world wlicre six million
individuals belonging to all (he nations on earth
are crowded together. To men! ion one of the
great nations, let us take Italy. New York is
the largest Italian city in the world since its
trans- Alpine population exceeds that of Home.
New Y r ork is preeminently a cosmopolitan city
which has no particular characteristic because
it has all, and in which one iinds that one is no-
where because one is everywhere. But it was
this New York whose gigantic frame was throb-
bing with the formidable energy of life, w T hich
rushed to greet the King on the sidewalks and
at the myriad of windows.

As if in a dream, the motors of our Sovereign
and his suite advanced through those great ave-
nues from which rose the most deafening noise
w r hicli had ever reached our ears. Behind a cor-
don of soldiers were pushed together men and
women of whom one saw only the frenzy and con-
torsion of their shouting mouths. Jutting out
over each other, these human masses were ar-
ranged in layers at the windows from the side-
walk up to the top of the tall skyscrapers, mak-

SO WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

ing a double border of living cliffs. With shrill
whistles, serpentine spirals and basketfuls of
many-colored confetti which floated about in the
sunlight fell from above. Even whole piles of
newspapers fluttered down on our heads. It is
well known that the Americans consider any
manner of expressing their approbation satisfac-
tory if it is sufficiently noisy. Not satisfied with
whistling, some had brought sirens and claxons
with them. Even better still, a thousand workers
had gathered in front of what seemed to be a
metallurgical factory, each with a piece of iron
in one hand and a hammer in the other. When
the King appeared, they banged away with full
force. j

A great many comments have been made on
this New York reception; we considered it mag-
nificent and overpowering but perhaps a little
naive, a little simple if not savage. Perhaps!
But a fact which must be taken into consider-
ation before everything else and which should
fill us with national pride, is that on that day as
our King drove by, the heart of a people was
bestowed upon us. How valuable such a gift is
when the heart is that of the American people,
the most generous and powerful nation in the

NEW YORK 31

world, and when it is given at the dawn of that
future of democracy and progress when the re-
lations between states will no longer depend
upon the ambitions and intrigues of a handful
of despots, but on the will and temper of the
people themselves !

After this popular reception, the King was
taken to the City Hall where Mayor Hylan con-
ferred upon him the title of citizen of New York.

The great municipal council hall of the City
Hall was too small to hold the members of the
aristocracy of New York who desired to attend
the ceremony. ^ The newspapers reported that
never in the history of the city had a denser and
more enthusiastic crowd been packed in that
hall. It was under the name of Albert the Great
that the King had the freedom of the city con-
ferred upon him. I quote here some sentences
from the Mayor's speech :

"The city of New York is happy to receive
among its citizens Albert the Great, the soldier-
king who has won the admiration of the whole
world.

"With deep emotion we also greet her who was
his faithful companion in his most dangerous

S2 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

hours, and whose devoted care kept up the cour-
age of those who fought for their country.

"Belgium was the pivot on which the war
turned. It was her cry of alarm and heroism
which called to arms liberty-loving people and
united them in an indissoluble alliance.

"The government of that country, religious as
well as civil, is in competent hands which have
undergone great trials and have been found
equal to their task. I am speaking of that splen-
did triumvirate formed by the King, the Queen
and Cardinal Mercier the soldier, the woman
and the priest, whose judgments matured in the
great trial.

"In the name of the people of this city, I have
the pleasure of calling Your Majesties citizens of
New York, the city which bore on its first coats
of arms the name of "New Amsterdam/' a city
whose history tells of services rendered at all
times in the cause of liberty and democracy, a
city proud of its Americanism the glorious city
of New York."

When the mayor finished, a formidable three
cheers coming from every mouth made the frame
of the building resound. I must mention the
following characteristic of "Americanism" the

NEW YORK 33

shrill voices of tlie women were predominant in
this shout. The voices of the women were also
predominant when the orchestra started "The
Star Spangled Banner," and all joined in singing
the anthem at the top of their lungs. I also
noticed another characteristic : in America the
people, and even members of society, seem to
know the words of the national anthem.

Is New York a beautiful city?

If one means by this that the aspect of this
city gives an artistic impression, I can certainly
answer in the negative. It is even ugly, ugly
because of its lack of proportion, or rather be-
cause of its extravagance of proportion. Those
buildings of thirty or forty stories, those hulks
which dump their bulky masses in every corner,
have an extremely ridiculous appearance. Some
are so absurdly big that they make one want to
laugh. If St. Gudule's cathedral of Brussels or
Notre-Daine of Paris were transported to New
York, they would find as their neighbor one of
those giants which would look at them with its
thousand stupid eyes, robbing them of all their
dignity.

New York is also ugly because of the profusion

34 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

of enormous skeletons of steel, thrust into the
sky. All around in the air there are too many
pieces of iron, bent and interlacing each other
distortedly. At your feet are skylights below
which trains fly ; and above all that, fastened to
facades and roofs, a multitude of steel braces sup-
port advertisements on billboards whose inco-
herent confusion stuns and fatigues the mind.
Still, New York has the beauty that an imposing
mass creates.

Since I have mentioned these advertisements,
I must say a word about them. Those signs,
which in the daytime are merely annoying, be-
come at night a charming sight. During her
stay in New York, the Queen expressed the desire
to go down Broadway, famous for the number of
its illuminations, at night. The section so pret-
tily named by the New Yorkers "The Great
White Way" is indeed one of the wonders of the
huge American city. Accompanied by the Com-
tesse de Caraman-Chimay and a few detectives
who followed discreetly behind, Queen Elizabeth
thus ventured across Broadway, lost in the crowd
which jostled her without recognizing in her the
queen whom that very morning they had been
greeting with frantic joy. Feeling at ease be-

NEW YORK 35

cause of her incognito, she walked slowly down
that avenue filled with dazzling brightness.

Perhaps one can imagine the sight of those
thousand inscriptions of fire which are lighted
and extinguished alternately, those blazing ar-
rows which suddenly rising up in the dark burn
one's eyes with their effulgence; but what cer-
tainly passes all imagination, what must indeed
be seen before one can believe its reality, is the
ingenuity displayed by the Americans in their
animated advertisements. On the top of a
huge skyscraper is a cat lying in wait for a
mouse. Suddenly Puss makes a bound, but her
prey escapes an<J she falls to the ground with her
paws in the air between which a huge cigarette
whose name is written on it in letters of fire sud-
denly lands. An automobile of light is sailing
in the sky. Three people are comfortably seated
in the spacious carriage. Stones and dust are
thrown up from the wheels. And suddenly these
very stones become shaped and write the name
of an automobile firm in the sky.

One can imagine the proportions of these ad-
vertisements perched on the top of countless
stories. The cigarette appearing between the
cat's paws is no less than ten yards long and

36 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

two yards wide; the motor is four times its
normal size. All these advertisements burn side
by side, rivaling each other in brightness and
originality to attract the eye of the passer-by.

There are also others even more extraordinary.
On a fagade a young girl is balancing on a swing.
At each plunge of the swing which flies over an
arc of more than thirty yards, her loosened hair
floats in the breeze. Here is a huge pencil which
hobgoblins running on the roofs carry at arm's
length. There two boxers hurl blows at each
other. Over there is a fat old man who faints
with joy in a comfortable rocking-chair.

But Times Square in the very center of Broad-
way is where the Great White Way attains the
magic enchantment of the "Arabian Nights."
When the Queen readied it it was almost mid-
night, and it was just as light as in broad day-
light. Above the Square the sky was glowing
with the lights of the city. An incomparable en-
chantment to the eyes ! In this purple sky, roses
and flowers of every shade slowly open and close
their petals, fountains of diamonds spout and
fall back into basins which they overflow and
from which they trickle down to the ground;
butterflies with glistening wings flutter about;

NEW YORK 87

and then above this, still higher up as if to crown
it all, two peacocks on the top of the largest
building display a wheel on which the whole
gamut of colors from blue to red and yellow scin-
tillates.

I shall not stop to enumerate the extraordinary
manifestations which succeeded each other dur-
ing the three days which our Sovereigns spent
in New York. I shall leave the celebration in
Central Park where 50,000 children gathered
together on the lawns sang the Brabangonne wav-
ing the stars and stripes, and that other mani-
festation in Madison Square Garden, that huge
colosseum almost ten times as large as the Salle
du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, where cheers
rolled like thunder into space above the heads
of the crowd.

I shall leave all that to get to our special train
in which the Sovereigns and their suite em-
barked and where they were to live for a whole
month while they twice traversed the United
States from ocean to ocean. This train served
us as a rolling hotel to which we came back after
visiting each city. Besides their bedrooms, the
King, Queen and Prince had a salon beautifully
decorated in green silk, with little tables, arm-

38 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

chairs and lamp shades of various colors. This
salon, attached to the end of the train, opened
out on a large platform, a kind of balcony, which
looked out on the country through which we
passed.

CHAPTER III

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC

first city after New York which the
JL King visited was Boston, the intellectual
and aristocratic center of America. In the cathe-
dral of this city the meeting between our Sover-
eigns and Cardinal Mercier took place.

According to the local newspapers the solemn
mass celebrated on Sunday in honor of the King
of the Belgians in the cathedral of Boston was
one of the most moving ceremonies which this
city had ever witnessed.

The King, the Queen and Prince Leopold and
their suite mounted the steps of the cathedral
between a double row of church dignitaries who,
dressed in their sumptuous robes of state (green
tunics trimmed with gold and silver), had taken
their places on the stone steps. Penetrating
through an enormous crowd, the Sovereigns
reached the choir where Monseigneur O'Connell,
cardinal-archbishop of Boston, and Monseigneur

Mercier received them. Standing at the foot of

89

40 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

the altar, Monseigneur O'Coimell addressed a
resounding speech of welcome to Albert the
Great.

After this the King, followed by the Queen,
went towards the stall which was designated for
him in the choir. Having crossed himself piously,
he knelt down. At the right of the altar under
a magnificent dais of velvet and gold was seated
Monseigneur Mercier. The Cardinal was wear-
ing his great purple mantle. In this imposing
frame the hieratic face of our prelate wore a
peculiar expression of grandeur and nobility.
As General Jacques remarked in pointing to the
King, the Queen and the Cardinal, the three
greatest personages of Belgium found themselves
at that minute in this far-off cathedral of
America.

The great crowd of people, the hymns sung by
two hundred choir boys, the marvelous solos by
one of the most famous American singers, and
especially the speech of Cardinal Mercier, who,
having mounted to the pulpit, thanked the Amer-
ican people for the generous help they had given
to Belgium, made of this religious service a
moving ceremony never to be forgotten.

I ask a simple question :

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 41

That day was Sunday. On this Sunday at the
same hour this same Catholic mass was being
celebrated in all the cities of the earth, in the
towns of our distant Europe as in those of this
great America, and other parts of the world
and not only in the cities, but even in the small-
est villages the same mass, according to the
same ritual and the same liturgy, with the same
motions of the officiating priest and the same
prayers, and in the same language. . . . This
Roman Catholic religion, which in spite of all the
persecutions and heresies has thus spread itself
so extensively, does it not really possess super-
natural power, even divine? ... It is just a
question.

In America one meets no professed unbelievers
or sceptics. Everybody pretends to be a Chris-
tian. Of these Christian people, half of them are
communicants. But this half is itself divided
into two pretty equal parts. To the first belong
the adepts of Protestantism and of diverse
creeds; to the second, the believers in Catholi-
cism. One can thus say roughly that one fourth
of the American people are Catholics. Never-
theless, this Catholic group grows from day to
day through extraordinarily numerous conver-

42 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

sions of young Protestants who find in the Catho-
lic faith a more complete realization of their
ideal.

As Balzac once wrote: "Once God is recog-
nized by the unbeliever, he throws himself into
absolute Catholicism, which, from the point of
view of system, is complete."

I called Boston an intellectual city. Boston
is indeed the center of American thought. There
are its scholars, its thinkers and its artists. The
birthplace of Edgar Allan Poe and Emerson,
this great city lies cairn, favorable to meditation
and study. It contains the oldest university in
America, founded in 1769 by Harvard, whose
name it bears.

Harvard University decided to confer on the
King of the Belgians the degree of Doctor of
Law. On this occasion an imposing ceremony
took place. All the doctors and professors of
the faculty were gathered together in the great
hall of the college, dressed in their long purple
gowns bordered with ermine with their individual
hoods.

In the presence of this assembly, President
Lowell conferred upon our Sovereign the degree
of Doctor of Law in the following terms:

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 43

"The members of the Board of Directors and
Faculty of Harvard University have come to-
gether to-day to pay homage to the acts accom-
plished by your Majesty and the Queen, to assure
you of their compassion for the sufferings of your
people, and to express their admiration for your
proud refusal to permit the tyrant to march
through the land, and for the self-respect which
preferred the calamity of a ruthless invasion to
loss of honor and breach of national faith. When
we saw you doing these things, we understood
that the King of the Belgians was every inch a
king. That is why Harvard University to-day is
conferring on the King of the Belgians because
he was the defender of right, the degree of Doctor
of Law."

In order to appreciate the great honor con-
ferred upon our Sovereign by Harvard Univer-
sity, it must be realized that it is only the fifth
time that the University has bestowed this hon-
orary degree at any other time than at Com-
mencement. The four persons who received this
honor previously were George Washington, who
obtained it in 1776, Andrew Jackson in 1833,

44 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

Prince Henry of Prussia in 1902, and General
Joffre in 1917.

At tlie bottom of the parchment which was
given to the King guaranteeing his degree, were
written the words of Shakespeare: "Aye, every
inch a King."

I have called Boston an aristocratic city. That
is indeed because old families who can trace
their ancestors three and four generations back
^ive there. A relative antiquity one may say.
Very true, but we are in young America, and it
must, moreover, be said that this gilded aristoc-
racy betrays its origin at the first glance of a
European.

It was in New York principally, however,
that it was permissible to make some cutting
remarks in the realm of customs. There the
wealth of an individual determines his social po-
sition. His income is his title of nobility. lu
New York you are not asked who you are but
how much are you worth. If you are worth a
million, you belong to the aristocracy even if
your father was a bootblack.

The King was invited to lunch in the center of
this New York aristocracy, the Bankers' Club.

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC *5

What would ancient Europe of the seventeenth
century have thought if it had known that one
of its grandsons, of the purest royal blood, should
some day sit down at table with men who had
no other royalty but that of the dollar?

In this banquet hall were gathered the great-
est financiers of America. As some one said,
many more millions of dollars were represented
there than in the whole of Paris and London to-
gether. We met the steel king and many others
there. When they were presented to our Sov-
reign, they showed great deference for his moral
courage, but as for anything more well, they
were kings too!

Nevertheless, joking aside, I was very much
impressed by the appearance and physiognomy
of these men. Almost all of them were tall with
vigorous complexions, square shoulders and firm
wrists. The blood of a young and healthy race
ran through their veins. Their faces were par-
ticularly expressive. In the shrewdness and pen-
etration of their eyes could be read ingenuity and
intelligence. The curves of their compressed
lips, like the lines in their foreheads and their
white hair, revealed the accomplishment of their

46 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

task. Though America does not possess a nobili-
ty of ancestry, it possesses that of work, and
especially of individual merit.

We sat down. Can you imagine a banquet, a
sumptuous banquet without the smallest drop of
wine or liqueur? It was, nevertheless, the
gloomy reality. As I write these lines I still see
placed in front of the King that solitary glass
filled with hopelessly limpid water on which
a few small pieces of ice floated sadly about.
That endless ice water during this long journey!
Header, you know by hearsay the prohibition of
wines and liqueurs in America. I do not know
how you feel about it, but I maintain that to
judge it rightly one must sit three times a day
for two months before a glass of ice water. What
an obsession ! Wherever you go they offer it to
you. In many public buildings, large stores,
banks and hotels a fountain of ice water is at the
disposal of the visitors. If you go in a restau-
rant, even before you have given your order, the
waiter pours you out a glass of ice water. And
at night just before going to bed there is that
same glass in which little specks of ice are float-
ing, sitting invariably on the table next to your
bed.

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 47

During the journey the King easily bore this
privation from all wine and all liqueur. He is
an abstainer by principle and by preference. But
such was not the case with the members of his
suite. There was perpetual regret at the bot-
tom of their hearts with a constant subject for
joking. One of tlieni whom I asked one morn-
ing if he had slept well answered me: "Sleep
well ! Just imagine, an angel came to me in a
dream with a drop of benedictine in the hollow
of his hand which he poured through my lips!"

In certain large American restaurants the bill
of fare bore the inscription "Beer." Beer! We
jumped for joy and ordered it in haste, and then,
warning us not to drink too much of it, they
brought us that mixture which is called tisane
in Europe.

Nevertheless, one must not think that the
masses of the American people rejoice over pro-
hibition. Quite the contrary, they recriminate
and lament. Rich America, they say, has be-
come the country of arid dry ness.

The way in which the people were led to vote
for what they regret to-day is well known. The
question of the prohibition of alcohol was put
to the electorate in the following manner: "Do

48 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

you believe in shutting the saloons in your dis-
trict?"

At the beginning of the campaign for prohibi-
tion the voters, in their anxiety to do away with
the abuses of the saloon, voted in the affirmative.
But since their vote entailed the prohibition of
the sale of all kinds of alcoholic beverages, they
saw that they had been fooled. They were in-
deed anxious to suppress the abuse of excessive
intoxication but they wanted to keep the right
to drink wine, beer and cider in their own homes.
Now by their own vote they can no longer do so.

Nevertheless, this prohibition was only for a
certain length of time which was to end as soon
as peace was declared. But in the delay over
the ratification of the treaty, people had time to
perceive the advantages of this temporary pro-
hibition. Also on January 16, 1920, an amend-
ment to the Constitution made prohibition gen-
eral and final. Prom this time on all over the
United States the manufacture, transportation,
importation and sale of drinks containing more
than one and one half per cent alcohol has been
forbidden.

It is only right, however, to add that this pro-
hibition of alcohol has had more satisfactory re-

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 49

suits in the realm of morals. Here are some
figures taken from a recent study of the records.
Since prohibition has been in effect, public
drunkenness has diminished from sixty to ninety
per cent; crime has diminished equally. More-
over, it is said that the State of Ohio is selling
one of its penitentiaries on account of the dearth
of guests. The largest hospital in Philadelphia
is closing its alcoholic ward, and the special ward
of the famous Bellevue Hospital in New York,
which registered one hundred and seventy pa-
tients a week, now only counts eighteen on the
average.

To return to our banquet, I noticed that Amer-
icans smoke during their meals. They light
cigarettes in the intervals between the courses.
What a frightful custom, you will exclaim! And
then all that siuoke in the mouth must spoil
everything, or at least neutralize the taste. Yet,
perhaps this is the reason. As a patient is given
an anesthetic to deaden the pain of the knife,
is there not perhaps some advantage in neutral-
izing one's palate against American cooking, that
disastrous cooking?

We regained our special train in Boston. We

50 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

got on board at nine o'clock at night and woke
the next morning at eight to find ourselves at
Niagara Falls on the Canadian border, more
than five hundred miles from Boston, carried
there without noticing it like the character in
the "Arabian Mghts" who traveled on a magic
carpet while he slept.

I must say a word in passing about the quality
of American trains. I am not speaking of the
royal train, which was a special, but of trains
in general. They are indeed run with extraordi-
nary comfort. There is only one class for all
travelers. The millionaire finds himself sitting
opposite his servant. Thus wills American de-
mocracy. The cars are extraordinarily clean. It
is true that the public helps to keep them so.
The advertisements which one soes placarded in
our trains begging us not to harm the woodwork
and upholstery are entirely superfluous in the
United States. The American considers that all
public goods are under his personal protection.
He has, moreover, the greatest respect for the
property of other people, even when that other
person is the government. It is a matter of edu-
cation. Surely American education reveals cer-
tain sides at which it is permissible to laugh,

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 51

but on the other hand it teaches us lessons which
we could learn to our advantage.

The trains are especially arranged for the
night. The reason for this is that Americans
travel more by night than by day. It is an
economy in time, and time is money. It is true
that in this enormous country where great dis-
tances separate towns from one another the
slightest change of place is considerable. The
European who takes a night journey in an Amer-
ican train cannot help being struck by the inti-
macy between men and women. As the space
between the curtains and the berth is very nar-
row, one sees gentlemen and ladies getting
chastely undressed in the aisles. In the morn-
ing everybody hurries half dressed to the wash-
room. And all this with the greatest purity of
morals. Nobody would allow himself to joke
about it even mildly.

I do not believe that there is a country in the
world with a higher morality than America.
They are not only chaste in their conduct but
in their thoughts. Even in the conversations
among men those spicy stories and anecdotes
which divert us are banished. They are particu-
larly ignorant of that art of obscene insinuations

52 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

and subtle words with double meanings which is
so characteristically Latin. That belongs pecu-
liarly to the French. Doubtless they judge us
aright. It is a fact that one will always be able
to pronounce "gauloiserie" while never saying
"Americanism." The word would not suit Uncle
Sam, any more than the thing itself.

Talking about these trains, they told me that
under certain circumstances when there was a
great crowd strange men and women would sleep
in the same section. The man would take the
upper berth and the woman the lower. Is that
right? I do not know, but if this does happen,
I am sure that it is with the greatest propriety.
Of course I should not like to set up this rule of
proper conduct as an absolute law. In morals
there is no absolute law. But it remains never-
theless that in America the abuse would be the
exception while with us it would be the rule for
the most part.

Since Louis Hennepin, the Belgian explorer,
described Niagara Falls for the first time in
1663, much has been written about this wonder.
Still, as Eoosevelt said, one can only realize what

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 53

these falls are really like when one has seen
them with one's own eyes.

The King remained for a long while leaning
over the railing of one of the rocks which domi-
nated the falls. Ills wide open eyes and the de-
lighted expression on his face showed his admira-
tion for this great river which swept down in
immense waves, hurling itself from a height of
167 feet. A column of mist and water-dust rose
from the abyss across which a rainbow, like a
jewel sparkling through golden hair, described
its luminous arc. As one of the guides ex-
plained to our Sovereign, scientists calculated
that it must have t-iken the river 35,000 to 75,000
years to gnaw through the coralline stone, which
formerly made it change its course and precipi-
tate itself at this spot. Fifteen million cubes
of water fall there per minute.

From where he was standing, the King sud-
denly caught sight of little wooden bridges at the
bottom of the roaring, boiling abyss which the
daring Americans had built from rock to rock
hardly more than a hundred yards from the foot
of the cataract.

The dauntlessness of our Sovereign is well

54 WITH THi: KING OF THE BELGIANS

known. He immediately expressed a desire to
take the trip across the bridges. Wherever the
King goes the Queen goes too. She also wanted
to be part of the expedition. And naturally the
"Suite" followed, among whom I knew more than
one would have preferred not to step into the
costumes which were given us. Except for the
helmet which was replaced by a rubber hood, it
was really a diver's suit which they put on the
royal pair and their companions. When the
explorers came out of their cabins thus muffled
up and met each other, everybody was frankly
hilarious. Indeed, this coarse uniform was not
flattering to our little Queen, who is always so
graceful. We read on her face a real terror when
she had to pass in front of the inevitable lenses
of the herd of photographers and moving-pic-
ture men stationed, as they never failed to be, in
every corner.

Huddled on the little bridges to which we
descended, our little troop contemplated the gor-
geous spectacle of the river, which crashed at
our feet with a great noise like an immense cry
of horror.

Under the bridge ran the river, boiling and
hissing with the speed of an express train, less

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 55

than three feet away from us. A spray of rain
lashed our rubber coats like hailstones and hit
us in the face, while gusts of wind took our
breath away.

"You would think we were in the trenches,"
said General Jacques, twisting his long mustache
from which water flowed fast.

The King and Queen were delighted with their
little excursion to the bridges. "A walk like that
is worth more than the cures in all our sana-
toria/' said our Sovereign, smiling.

Sometimes on the steamer and sometimes in
the electric railway which runs along the side
of the cliffs, Their Majesties wandered around
the charming and magnificent shores of the river.
At one moment when we were looking intently
at a large mansion situated on the top of a hill
with a wonderful panorama, General Jacques
with his usual geniality slapped me on the shoul-
der. "If you give me a hundred thousand livres
a year," he said, pointing to the house, "I will
live there willingly the rest of my life."

"I should say so, General!"

But suddenly the hero of Dixinude changed his
mind on second thought. His eyes expressed a
deep emotion as he said :

56 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

"Well, no. All that is not worth my old place
at Vielsalm. That is the little corner where I
want to grow old and die."

Leaving Niagara Falls, we dashed towards the
West, crossing the great states of Pennsylvania,
Ohio and Illinois. To give an idea of their size,
it is sufficient to say that some of the Middle-
Western states are larger than France.

Of Ohio I will only mention the overwhelming
reception which our Sovereigns received in To-
ledo, the native town of the American Minister
to Belgium. It was an act of graceful delicacy
on the part of our King to insist on stopping in
that city to thank her for having given us that
great and glorious friend of Belgium, Brand
Whitlock.

After Ohio, Illinois. I must say a few words
about an extraordinary city through which the
royal train, nevertheless, passed without stop-
ping, because the German element is so predomi-
nant there that it numbers almost as many Ger-
man inhabitants as American. It seems that a
city is built in America as quickly as a monu-
ment is erected in Europe. Chicago is a pro-
digious example of this. This city, which now

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 57

contains almost four million souls, was only a
hamlet of a hundred cottages in 1831, barely
ninety years ago. This is even more remarkable
if we recall that Chicago, built entirely of wood,
was completely destroyed by lire in 1871. It
took a week to raze it to the ground. But behold
the miracle of American speed ! Chicago was re-
built, this time in stone, with such rapidity
that a local newspaper wrote this sentence which
has since become famous: "The lire which found
Chicago a city of wood left it transformed into
stone."

A huge and cosmopolitan city where Germans,
Irish, Scandinavians, Polew nnd Bohemians el-
bow each other.

About forty languages are spoken there. News-
papers appear printed in ten languages and re-
ligious services are held in twenty different
dialects.

The colossal industry of this "cit6-ardente,"
the first market of the world because of its trade
in cereals and preserved meat, is famous across
the sea. Yet at the time we passed through
it that landscape dotted with huge factories and
covered with an extraordinary network of rail-
roads presented an appearance which was as

58 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

unexpected as it was deceptive. The cars lay
motionless on their rails. The cranes, wind-
lasses, cables, all the apparatus of iron and steel
of the most intense human activity lay inert as
if congealed in death. Not a workman amid this
silence. Nothing but here and there rows of
soldiers, their guns on their shoulders.

The King found out the reason for all this
when they told him that a strike had just been
called among the laboring population of the city.
You see that the Bolshevik virus penetrates far.

You can imagine the financial loss which a
general strike must bring to a city like Chicago.
If the enforced idleness lasts several dnys, the
loss must be reckoned in millions, perhaps in
hundreds of millions of dollars.

In speaking of this I must say that America is
afraid of Bolshevism. It watches iis progress
with distress. Every day the newspapers devote
long, anxious articles to the subject. One of the
first questions asked of a traveler arriving from
Europe is :

"Is Bolshevism still making progress in your
country? Will it continue to spread? And how
about strikes?"

Strikes! The United States was infested with

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 59

them like a plague. During the King's journey
we counted no less than one hundred and twen-
ty-five trades in which the workmen had laid
down their tools. Still the government defends
itself with extraordinary energy. Our news-
papers reported in the first days of January,
1920, that five hundred arrests had been made
in New York in a single night. The same was
true that night in twenty-three American cities.
I could see that Uncle Sam had his own argu-
ments.

I must add that this fear of Bolshevism seems
to be one of the causes which paralyzed the action
of the Conference on Labor in Washington,
where the delegates of the various powers of the
labor world met recently. Thinking it had dis-
covered fuel for Bolshevism in this conference,
the press carried out a conspiracy of silence
which eventually smothered it by preventing the
public from becoming interested.

But we are "burning" Chicago. In order to
ward off the fatigue which our Sovereigns were
likely to feel, the American government had de-
cided to do away with all official receptions for
a few days and transport its august guests with-

60 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

out stopping to the Pacific Coast, where they
could rest in some retired spot. A series of
states were crossed with a speed entirely Ameri-
can. The records were broken, we were told, be-
cause in that country they adore to break records,
as I shall have an opportunity of showing more
clearly later on.

"But is this speed not dangerous for the
King?" I asked a conductor.

"Oh, no, sir; every precaution has bocn taken.
Three special engineers are on board. The rail-
way system has been perfectly studied."

And I can still hear that man finishing phleg-
matically: "Besides, an engine is constantly
preceding us by five or six miles. In this way
if there should be a collision, the engine would
be wrecked, not this train."

Being very curious about everything that has
to do with locomotives and the art of driving a
train, our King, during the journey, expressed
a desire to ride in the cab of the engine. He
was thus able to see at close range how the mon-
ster was operated. It was this visit of the King
to the engine from which the newspapers wove
that fanrdtt* legend of the King running his own

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 61

train. In reality our Sovereign never touched a
lever.

On this occasion we noticed again a trait that
is characteristically American : the ingenuity
and extraordinary daring of the photographers
and moving-picture men. They were always in
every corner, ready to catch in their cameras
the occurrences and scenes which interested
them. No difficulty, no danger prevented them
from "filming" any sensational event. While
the King was on the engine, did we not see one of
these bold fellows turning the crank of his movie
machine, perched on the tender in danger of
being knocked down by the wind?

When the King arrived at New York harbor,
some of these bold photographers had installed
themselves at an incredible height on a steel
beam, which swung out from the roof of a sky-
scraper and seemed to be suspended over the
water. A slight dizziness, a false motion, and
it would have meant a plunge into the abyss be-
low for these unfortunate beings. The most in-
genious and intrepid among them enjoy great
popularity. The magazines and newspapers pay
enormous sums to secure the services of these
king-reporters.

62 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

One word about the American press. It is
noisy and sensational. For this reason it has no
other aim than that of exciting curiosity and of
making itself read. Hardly scrupulous even
about the truth, it considers everything true
which is probable or even possible. In no way
a moralist, it has no anxiety for apostleship. It
does not lead public opinion or educate it, but
follows it, flatters it, and tries to please it. Its
soul is mercantile before everything else.

Under the signature of Saint-Sixte, who is
familiar with the Americans, the "Mercure de
France" has recently published a study which,
though a little severe, seems to us nevertheless to
be exact enough : "By its headlines, which are
written with abbreviations that are often incom-
prehensible to the newcomer, the press satisfies
the need of its readers for emotion and feverish
haste. Always aiming for effect, it incessantly
sacrifices everything to the desire of astonishing
them by the publication of the most extraordi-
nary and most uncontrolled news. The quality
or truth matters little provided it prints the
quantity. What characterizes the American
press in my mind is its inquisitive spirit, which
consequently becomes tyrannical. There is noth-

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 63

ing sacred to the press in the United States; the
reporters busy themselves with everything, stick
their noses into everything, write about every-
thing under the sun; they must be omniscient
and they are omnipotent. They must let noth-
ing prevent them from accomplishing a pro-
fessional tour-de-force. An eminent Frenchman
living in New York goes on business to a west-
ern city and dies at a hotel there. A reporter
who is shrewder than the others succeeds in
finding out who the deceased man was and in
getting the telephone number of his home. In
order to be the first to publish an obituary and
announce this interesting event, he does not hesi-
tate to telephone to the widow, to tell her of the
death and get from her the main points for his
article. And no one cries out against this abomi-
nation; no, it is a little excessive perhaps, but
nevertheless typical. Another example. It is
well known that in most American cities hotels
are closed to unmarried couples. If a man and
woman should succeed in breaking this rule,
and, as might happen, should they be discovered
that very night by a raid of the police, they will
not only be dragged before a judge to answer for
their violation of the law, but it is only too likely

64 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

that the names of the delinquents will be pub-
lished in all the papers the next morning. These
two examples are taken from among a thousand.
One can literally say that the investigating spirit
of the American reporters does not recoil before
any susceptibility, or before any decency, how-
ever reasonable or natural it may be.

"For them the barrier of private life does not
exist at all; moreover, the word privacy is en-
tirely unknown to them. And it is this which
explains not only the political omnipotence of the
press but also its social tyranny."

What I have said of the legend of the Engineer-
King and of certain characteristics of the press,
gives me an opportunity of saying a word about
a tendency peculiar to the American nature.
Doubtless, of course, people all over the world
are familiar with this trait. But the Americans
themselves have the best word to describe it,
probably because they feel they have more need
for it bluff. And the virtuosos in the art of
bluffing are surely the Yankee reporters. What
an art! We must certainly gratefully acknowl-
edge that they manipulated it wonderfully in en-
hancing the popularity of our Sovereigns. I
will give a few examples of this.

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 65

The American people are infatuated on the
subject of sport So these clever journalists in-
stalled the King in front of the levers of his
engine and made him break the speed records.
Americans admire, above everything else, hard-
working men who have made their own way in
life. A rather difficult trait to reconcile with
the hereditary royalty of Albert I. But do not
think, however, that such a small matter baffled
the reporters. They discovered the street in
New York in which our King worked, earning
his living as a newspaper reporter when he made
his first journey to the United States twenty
years ago. This wa& printed in large headlines
in certain New York papers. The story was so
popular that a San Francisco paper took it up
later on and made it more lively by putting these
words in the mouth of the King when he was
passing through the city: "Well, look at that
newspaper office! It is there I worked twenty
years ago! I even remember that I was dis-
missed for reporting some event badly."

They also took care of the popularity of the
Queen. The same San Francisco paper stated
that during the war she found herself at one

66 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

time in such disastrous straits that she pawned
her jewels at the Mont-de-Pi6t6.

But surely the record example of American
bluff is the story of the lion cage. Every one
knows this story, the echoes of which reached
Europe and even Belgium, where foolish exploits
are not popular and where it created some un-
easiness. I may be permitted to relate that little
episode as I saw it with my own eyes.

Walking through the valley of the Yosemite,
which I shall have a chance to describe later on,
the small party of our Sovereigns and their
suite were visiting an Indian encampment when
we saw a large cage divided by a partition into
two compartments. There were two lions inside
that betrayed two peculiarities, the lirst of which,
and probably the most striking, was that they
were not lions at all, but what we call in Europe
pumas American lions u kind of intermediary
species between a cat and a small leopard. The
other interesting thing about these animals was
that they had been taken from the nest in their
earliest infancy and had known no other society
but that of man, whom they probably feared less
than their own kind. Make-believe lions, most
peaceful and gentle lions ! They were so darling,

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 67

these little lions who purred as they rubbed their
heads against the bars of their prison, that Queen
Elizabeth was touched, and following the guard
Tyho went into the cage, petted o<ne of them. The
Queen's coat had a border of fur. Smelling this,
the little creature put out his paw to play with
it. This fur which aroused an appetite of the
wild beast, this tap of the paw. . . . The report-
ers made of this an international sensation.
They pictured the Queen of Belgium struggling
with the lions of America.

Since I am speaking of certain characteristics
of American popular taste, I must emphasize
another which has originality. It is the mania
for breaking records. Possessed by a real fever
for emulation, the Americans make a record of
everything in art, as well as in pugilism. The
best in the world; the largest in the world
they have these words incessantly on the tips
of their tongues. There are certain figures which
every good American knows and can rattle off
in one breath!

The largest hotel in the world is situated in
New York, the Hotel Pennsylvania, which con-
tains 2,200 bedrooms, each with a bathroom and
shower adjoining. (The American cannot con-

68 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

ceive of a man who has some idea of hygiene
and some care as to the cleanliness of his person
and does not take a bath every morning. Also
in many hotels in the United States the bedroom
is next to the bathroom.) I walked along the
galleries of the main floor of the Pennsylvania.
In the assembly-rooms of these large hotels Amer-
ican society congregates in the evening. They
constitute the city's boulevard. Here are shops
brilliantly illuminated, belonging to the hotel,
and displaying jewels, furs, clothing, lingerie,
perfumes, etc. A guest at the Pennsylvania can
buy all his personal requirements without leav-
ing the hotel.

The Pennsylvania has twenty-two stories. But
the record for height in New York is held by the
Woolworth Building, which has no less than
fifty-eight floors. It is the highest stone monu-
ment in the world. Its floors are filled with
bureaus of banks and other business centers.
One goes from one to the other by means of ele-
vators. Among these are locals which stop at
every floor, and expresses which stop at the most
important floors, the large stations. Still it was
a through express which carried our Sovereign

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 69

up to the fifty-eighth floor of the Woolworth
Building.

From there we could embrace with one glance
the great panorama of the vibrating and smoking
city. What a dream-like vision ! New York was
there below our eyes with its wonderful harbor,
over which bridges leading to Brooklyn project;
its streets running in straight lines. The pedes-
trians on the sidewalks seemed like a mass of
diminutive ants, in and out of which moved the
street cars like long yellow caterpillars. Per-
haps one would be interested in knowing the
number of people which one of these skyscrapers
holds. During working hours 25,000 human
beings are crowded into the Woolworth Build-
ing. The size of this figure can be better ap-
preciated if we remember that one of our beau-
tiful cities, Charleroi, has precisely the same
population.

But everything is on the same scale in this
gigantic country. For as the population of one
of our towns could be compressed into one Amer-
ican building, almost the entire population of
Belgium could be crowded into a single city,
since Belgium has seven and a half million in-
habitant* whilf If ew York tow tfix million.

70 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

I must add that this profusion of skyscrapers
or clqud-pressers is found only in New York.
This is explained by the narrow area of Man-
hattan Island, on which the city is built. Since
the land was incapable of extension, the New
York architects had to make up in height and
depth for what was lost in breadth.

I say in height and depth. These great sky-
scrapers indeed go down into the depths of the
earth* The Woolworth has four underground
stories. But the record for underground stories
is held, I was told, by a building in Philadelphia
which counts fourteen. They scrape below as
well as above !

Another record is that of the number of auto-
mobiles. There seem to be hardly any horses
in the United States. Motors are so common
everywhere that they are often used by workmen
going to their factories and farmers to their
fields. Some of the latter go off to their land
comfortably installed in a spacious body over-
flowing with a pile of spades, scythes, rakes and
other implements of plowing.

It is estimated that in the whole of the
United States there is one automobile for every
fifteen people. In New York statistics show one

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 71

for every ten inhabitants. But the record is
held by Detroit with the fantastic proportion of
one automobile to every inhabitant. It must be
said, however, that the famous Ford factories
are situated in Detroit.

Still the most singular and charming record
held by the Americans is that for beauty. Some
large towns have their queen of beauty. The
queen takes part in the large dinners and balls
given in the city. As Paul Bourget said, she
figures there as well as roses at a dollar apiece
and unadulterated champagne. ( Bourget visited
America at a time when they still had unadulter-
ated champagne!) The queen of beauty repre-
sents her city in other towns, at boat races and
horse races. She is a champion in her own way
like a master at billiards or a famous boxer.

On this occasion I remember having explained
to an American who was surprised that such
contests did not exist in Belgium, that it would
be impossible because all our women were beau-
tiful.

It was now a week since we had left New York.
Ohio, Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah had
been crossed at top speed. Our train flew across

72 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

the great and uniformly flat steppes of the Far
West. As we went by, they pointed out the home
of the famous Buffalo Bill to the King, a little
house crouching in the shade of a few trees.
On these endless plains where w T e sometimes
caught sight of ranches and nerds of oxen or
sheep driven by cowboys on horseback, the great
"Son of the Prairies 7 ' used to practice rifle-shoot-
ing and lassoing. Nevertheless, it was in vain
that we looked for Redskins, Sioux and other
apaches who rush to attack trains with knives
in their hands and war-cries on their lips. All
that ceased to exist a long time ago, our Ameri-
can companions told us, smiling. To tell the
truth, we would not have minded a little attack
make-believe, of course. But good old Feniinore
Cooper has been buried such a long time.

We were now crossing the Rocky Mountains,
chains of granite where the cold is intense. They
are inhabited by a half savage population. Each
time the train stopped in some straggling village
to get water or test the wheels and axles, the
King's car was immediately surrounded by
natives. They knew that this king was a gal-
lant king and they greeted him frantically. One
thing, however, deceived them a little. There

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 73

was not enough pomp and show about this mon-
arch who, standing in a simple loimging-jucket
on the observation platform of his train, waved
at them with his hand.

"Is that really the King of the Belgians?" one
jovial fellow, whose features disappeared under
his great soft felt hat, asked defiantly.

"Why, of course. Why should it not be he?"

"Because," he answered, "well, because he
has not got a crown."

These good people were probably expecting a
personage gorgeously attired, sitting on a throne
of gold with a scepter in his hand.

It was in these parts that the King had a
very amusing adventure. It is well known that
our Sovereign is in the habit of getting up very
early. One day when the train had stopped at
about seven in the morning, the King, dressed
in a simple morning suit and cap, was walking
up and down the tracks when a rail worker
touched his arm.

"I say, old man, is this train where the King
of the Belgians is?"

"Yes, certainly."

"Could you tell me if he is up yet?"

King Albert remained thoughtful for a min-

74 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

ute as one who is not quite sure, and then said :

"No, I don't think he is np yet. They say he

is very lazy and never gets up before ten o'clock."

We were going down the west slope of the
Rocky Mountains and rushing towards Califor-
nia, which we were to reach in two day. It
seemed as if we were increasing our speed in
proportion as we were drawing near the promised
land.

The King only stopped a couple of hours in the
Mormon city, Salt Lake City. We were led
into the immense tabernacle erected by the dis-
ciples of the Mormon religion. This temple,
which has the peculiarity of being bnilt entirely
of wood there is not a single bolt or a single
nail in its gigantic frame is large enough to
hold 10,000 people. It was, moreover, before
such a multitude that the mayor of the city ad-
dressed to his guest the traditional speech of
welcome. After a recital on an organ said to be
the largest in the world, we were given some very
interesting points on the Mormon religion. Its
fundamental principles are Faith in the Trinity
and Eepentance. Still, God being only the most
powerful of men, every man can hope to become

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 75

a God in his turn. Among the sacraments there
is baptism by immersion and the laying on of the
hands. Also marriage for this world or a future
life or for eternity alone. They gave me many
explanations about the meaning of this marriage
for eternity alone, but I left the Mormon high
priests before I had understood anything about
it.

Marriage for this life or a future life, however,
found a peculiar answer when (he royal train
reached the neighboring town of Reno, the easiest
place in the world where one can obtain a divorce.
A sojourn of six months in this town is indeed
sufficient for the local authorities to break a
civil marriage simply on request. One also finds
at Reno a whole colony of fashionable men and
women who come from all corners of the United
States to obtain a separation as soon as their
term is accomplished. Only six months to sepa-
rate two human beings who have sworn faith-
fulness for life! Still another record broken!
Are the Americans just as proud of this one?

I have emphasized the high morals of the
United States. If they condemn adultery, how-
ever, the Yankees are fond of divorce. It would
seem as if no American girl ever got married

76 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

without thinking in the back of her mind that
divorce is always left as a remedy for an un-
successful marriage. Here are some figures
which go to prove the ever-increasing vogue of
conjugal ruptures. From 1867 to 1906, when the
population was a little more than doubling by
increasing from thirty-eight to eighty -five mil-
lions, the number of divorces increased from
12,000 to 72,000 sixfold.

An average number of divorces was established
in 1900 for the principal countries of Europe and
America. Per 100,000 inhabitants, this average
was twelve divorces in Serbia, fifteen in Ger-
many, seventeen in Denmark, twenty-three in
France, thirty-two in Switzerland and seventy-
two in America. As you see, Uncle Sam again
breaks a record, and at what a margin !

Before rushing to attack the gigantic moun-
tains of Sierra Nevada, the royal train crossed
one of the arms of the Great Salt Lake on a
frame bridge twenty-three miles long. This lake,
very like the Dead Sea of Palestine, is one of the
curiosities of the world. No fish can live in it
because it is twenty per cent salt. The density
of the water is such that a man jumping into it
often finds that he tan float without making any

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 77

motion. Divers cannot plunge below those bit-
ter waves.

It was intensely cold on this lake when we
crossed it. It is, moreover, characteristic of this
climate for sudden changes of temperature to
occur in going from one region to another. At
certain moments the cold grips your ears; the
next minute the heat makes you take off all heavy
clothing. You need a strong constitution to
stand these jumps which shatter your nerves.
Queen Elizabeth, however, was not in the least
bothered by it As for our robust King, he al-
ways had on his lips that jovial smile of a man
who has seen many things.

CHAPTER IV

CALIFORNIA

IT was on the next day that the gigantic hills
of the Sierra Nevada rose before us, the last
rampart which was hiding California from our
eyes. The greatness of the gorges of the Sierra
Nevada, that chain which runs for five hundred
miles between Nevada and California, has often
been described. The average height of these
mountains is from nine thousand to eleven thou-
sand feet, and some are even higher than twelve
thousand feet.

All day long we rolled across this savage wil-
derness, hanging at times above dizzy abysses
down the slopes of which were displayed pano-
ramas rivaling by their splendor the much-
praised scenes in our European Alps. In order
to lose nothing of the sceneiy the King and the
Prince crossed this chain of mountains in the
cab of the engine.

Towards evening, as twilight began to fall, we
realized that w r e were going down. The air

78

CALIFORNIA 79

which had been intensely cold till then suddenly
became soft and fragrant. A smell of perfume
floated about, effluvia of flowers and fruits. It
is thus that we knew that we had just entered
California, the land of fruit, flowers and sun, the
Eldorado of the world. But we did not know
what this dreamland was really like until the
next morning when we woke up at Santa Bar-
bara, facing the blue waters of the Pacific.

How can one describe in such colorless terms
as those of the human tongue that paradise on
earth, Santa Barbara? Before this magnificence,
this fairyland of nature, the pen remains power-
less. Magnificence, fairyland. ... I should like
to array anew these poor words which have been
so used and abused that they have lost their
value, like coins which have been worn down. I
ought to be silent, I say, because I do not possess
the words, but it is a need of human nature to
wish to make other people share a little of our de-
light. Imagine a chain of mountains so high that
their summits are left in the clouds on the edge of
a sea eternally blue. At a certain spot along the
coast this chain makes a little curve, forming a
nest between its granite arms. That nest is
Santa Barbara. Coming down from the moun-

80 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

tain you only see at first the foliage of the great
eucalyptus trees, the palms, lemon trees and
bamboos.

But underneath the palms of this equatorial
flora are revealed delightful little chalets nes-
tling in their own shade, built entirely of wood
bungalows as they are called in the musical lan-
guage of India. Around these bungalows are
flowers, flowers in full bloom, butterflies of every
color of the rainbow, and birds of every variety
from the pelican to the humming-bird. These
humming-birds! Who can describe the grace of
those insects which have turned into birds? The
Queen one evening was watching one chasing a
butterfly which had taken refuge near a flower.
To escape from the bird, the butterfly was flying
round and round the corolla. And there was
such a glistening of feathers, wings and petals
that the flower, the bird and the butterfly were all
blended together in confusion. It seemed as if
the flowers were flying about and the butterflies
were bouquets on the branches.

But the magic quality of this place lies in its
light. The light is so radiant and so pure that
it seems luminous in itself. But though it is
dazzling, it is not crude and does not hurt one's

CALIFORNIA 81

eyes but caresses them like the warm air which
bathes one's forehead. In this light the fruits
grow ripe, abundant and full of flavor. I picked
lemons like that from a tree. I saw vines of
heavy grapes swollen with such a rich and de-
licious juice that one would have thought it to
be the elixir of the sun itself.

Colors have a new significance in this light.
Our artists should go there to get the shading
of the different tones. From gazing at these
green lawns they could reproduce a new green;
they could get azure and sapphire blue from the
transparency of the sky and the wings of the
birds; they could find verrnillion in the heart of
the roses bleeding like an open wound, and could
take gold and purple from the magnificence of
the sunsets. Oh, these sunsets on the Californian
beach ! While the last rays fell from the moun-
tain like flows of lava, a sea breeze, ladened with
the perfume of seaweed and flowers, penetrated
under the palms. In the distance, in the soft
atmosphere, the drawling melopceia of a singer
mingled with the cries of the pelicans.

I went up to Prince Leopold who was leaning
against a palm tree contemplating the mountain
whose outline was already drowned in darkness.

82 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

He looked at me with that melancholy and dream-
like look which is characteristic of him, and
said:

"It is not three days that I should like to stay
here but three months, and then still longer."

This charming spot is not the only one of its
kind. There are others like it all along the coast,
crouching low in each bend of the mountains.
Santa Barbara is thus repeated a thousand times.
All of these oases together constitute the charm
and incomparable beauty of the Californian
coast.

It is also on the borders of California that the
Yosemite National Park is situated in the range
of the Sierra Nevada. The Sovereigns and their
suite spent two days in this garden whose area
is equal to half of that of Belgium. The Yosemite
is famous all over America for the richness of its
vegetation and the beauty of its scenery.

Trees of every sort grow there, from the sugar
pine to flowering trees and tall bushes. But
the most extraordinary variety is that of the
Sequoia Gigantea, whose average height is
three hundred feet. The King placed his hand
on one of those trees, the Grizzly Giant, which

CALIFORNIA 83

has the extraordinary circumference of one hun-
dred feet. Its diameter reaches almost thirty
feet ; its main branch, two hundred feet above the
ground, is seven feet thick, and its height three
hundred feet, about three times- as high as the
Column du Congrds at Brussels.

The hollow trunks of some of these trees f orm
veritable caverns. You can go through them on
horseback or in an automobile; you could give
a dinner of twenty around a table in one of
them. The colossal giants are often no further
apart than nine or ten feet; it seems as if they
were trying to strangle each other with their
great arms. Here, as everywhere else in Ameri-
ca, in the forests as well as the cities, was the
savage picture of the struggle for existence.

But the remarkable thing is the age of these
giants, which date back several thousand years.
Contemporaries of Moses, they were old when
Borne was young,

The King was presented with some seeds of
the Sequoia Gigantea. He took them smiling
and said:

"I will plant them in my park at Brussels and
I will go and see the result some five thousand
years from

84 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

The magnificence of the Yosemite lies also in
its rocks. Some of them, 5,000 feet high, rise
towering over the valley. In some places cata-
racts fall from these heights. One of these is the
Bridal Veil Palls, thus named because the water
while falling is blown about by the wind so that
it resembles a white veil. The rocks, moreover,
form one of the most beautiful aspects of pic-
turesque America. They are found everywhere.
It would seem that following the changes of the
sky below which they lie dreaming and the cli-
mate with which they are blessed, they take other
forms, express a different poetry and that even
their soul changes. My eminent colleague, Mr.
Arthur De Rudder, has written some very beau-
tiful lines about the rocks of America which I
will quote here:

"The rock. Who can tell us of its tragic beauty?
The magnificence of the trees, the charm of rivers,
the softness of hills have often been praised. Who
can make us understand and love the powerful
majesty and wild grandeur of rocks / They live for
centuries without moving and we cannot believe that
they are insensible because they seem to us to be the
very body of the earth, to represent its poetic and
lyric quality and its faith which soars up towards the
clouds.

"I believe indeed that North America has the most
beautiful rocks in the world. They were not wrong

CALIFORNIA 85

in calling the spinal dorsal -which crosses the conti-
nent the Kocky Mountains. There are numberless
crags scattered on their wooded summits, on the top
of their plateaux, in the bottom of their valleys.
Many of them have strange and imposing forms; there
are some like those of Utah, which rise with a single
dart as if they had burst forth straight from the
center of the earth ; there are others like those of the
Grand Canyon, which are arranged in battle forma-
tion, heaped together and piled on top of each other
like gigantic walls built as if to erect the most fabu-
lous palace that could ever be conceived by poet's
imagination. There are some whose ridges are like
needles, and still others isolated in the high plains
raise their phantom-like peaks in vast and unknown
spaces of which we had never dreamed, for with what
dreams, legends or poems could our Europe, the
creator of gentleness or horror, have showered the
spectral rocks of Nebraska? But perhaps imposing
imposing of all rise in the Valley of the Yosemite, for
example, the Two Sisters, the Cathedral Towers, or
that extraordinary Captain who raises his heavy and
dominating form more than seven hundred feet above
the ground.

"There are some in New Mexico which resemble
tall spires and towers; there are some which one
would think lost or left there in the great red deserts
of Arizona by some giant or absent-minded god.
They have tints of emerald, ruby and sapphire. They
reflect all the colors of earth and sky, but red pre-
dominates, and they still bear traces of that internal
fire which gave them birth. Dawn, noon and evening
light them up, gild them with the thousand lights of
day, while night extinguishes them like great
torches/'

To return to our excursion in the Yosemite
Valley, I "will mention a charming little trait 0f

86 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

Queen Elizabeth's character which I noticed in
the course of this visit and which again shows
the generosity of her nature which has become
so well known. Perhaps it is a little trait, but
is it not in little things that the character is best
revealed?

Not far from the lion's cage, the story of
which I have already told, were some fish ponds
where young trout were being raised in troughs
fed with running water. The Queen was leaning
over the edge, amusing herself by looking at the
thousands of little fishes swarming there when
she suddenly saw one of them caught on a twig
by one of its fins. The little animal was strug-
gling in vain to free itself. Seeing this, Prince
Leopold took a stick and stuck it in the water.
But his mother stopped him.

"Look out," she said, "you will hurt him. 11 '
"But then, how do you want me to do it?"
Without answering, the Queen slowly took off
her gloves. Then, rolling up her sleeve, plunged
her arm into the icy water and loosened the little
fish with infinite care.

It is also near this fish pond that I witnessed
an amusing scene where Queen Elizabeth tried
to take a photograph of a little Indian ten or

CALIFORNIA 87

twelve years old, a pure offspring of that red-
skinned race with long, dark hair and eyes of
fire. The child had a superstitious terror of the
eye of the strange instrument which was turned
on him. What sorcery was lying in wait for him
in that box? As ho obstinately turned his back
on the Queen, she asked one of the ladies of her
suite to place herself opposite with another cam-
era to catch the boy between two fires in this
manner. But no sooner did the rascal under-
stand the plan than he frustrated it by taking
refuge behind a tree trunk. The Queen imme-
diately asked us to surround the tree. This time
the Indian did not seem able to escape any long-
er from the lenses surrounding him, when sud-
denly with the agility of a squirrel, he jumped
at the trunk, climbed up it with his hands, legs
and feet, and in less time than it takes to say it,
disappeared in the thick foliage.

On horseback along lit tie paths cut in the rock
itself on the side of dizzy precipices, our Sov-
ereigns and their suite reached the summit of
the glacier mountain, where we were to spend
the night. Here we saw one of those wonderful
sunsets peculiar to California. Sky and earth
were suddenly tinted with blood as if by the wand

88 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

of a magician. But the twilight did not last long,
and the next moment night had fallen. Five
thousand feet below us in the valley at our feet,
we saw the houses light up one by one. The stars
seemed to shine beneath us as well as above. Then
some cowboys came and set fire to a pile of wood
on the edge of the rock. When the flames started
to hiss they pushed the burning logs over the
precipice into the empty void, and the cataract
of fire, bounding from rock to rock, sent a flash of
yellow light into the depths of the valley.

The inhabitants of California, that legendary
country, are strong and healthy, a beautiful race
with black eyes and glowing tanned skin. When
they are not working they ride in their motors,
for many cars in that distant land glide in the
shade of the palins. Young women, sometimes
very young women, are at tlio wheel, driving
alone or with their friends.

I trust I may be allowed to tell a personal
anecdote which, however, throws light on the
character of American manners and customs.

One afternoon when I was walking alone in
the suburbs of Santa Barbara, one of those
motors driven by a young girl all alone, one of
the flowers of health and freshness of which Gal-

CALIFORNIA 89

ifornia boasts, stopped at my side. The charm-
ing driver addressed me : "You are all alone, sir.
Won't you get in the car and let me drive you
home?"

Would others have thought as I did, or was
it conceit on my part, but 1 remember seeing in
this gesture only u gracious greeting. After all,
the adventure was charming. 1 took my seat
next to the pretty Culifornian.

What do you suppose that lovely girl talked
to me about from the corner of the road where
she had picked me up all the way back to my
hotel? She talked to me of her biceps! Yes,
really, of her biceps, which she had acquired by
taking regular exercise. As 1 could not help
smiling, she thought that I did not believe her.
I can still see her holding on to the steering
wheel with one hand and offering me her arm.
"But feel, sir; just feel!"

I found myself face to face with one of those
real daughters of America, loving physical exer-
cise above everything else and cultivating it pas-
sionately. As she explained to me, she rode
horseback every morning from nine to eleven, and
then played tennis. After lunch she drove
around in her car and then had tea. And many

90 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

of her sisters of American aristocracy do the
same thing I mean of middle-western and far-
western aristocracy. It is to this out-of-door life
that these women, it seems, owe the conservation
of their bright coloring and youthful grace at
the age of forty or fifty. I saw women of sixty
and seventy with white hair whose cheeks still
kept their youthful coloring and whose foreheads
were not wrinkled. It is true that American
women, who have less keen feelings, do not know
those moral torments, those crises and those
thousand painful shadows which cross the lives
of European women and make them grow old.
Being less delicate, they suil'er less as they also
rejoice less.

What also conserves that physical integrity
for them in spite of their years is to a large
extent the purity of their morals. To the Ameri-
can girl, man is a comrade. No embarrassment,
no false modesty restrains her when she is with
him. She joins in his games, walks with him,
accompanies him to the theater. In order to
know each other well, some engaged couples even
travel together before they are married. They
never have the slightest idea that there could be
anything wrong in this intimacy. On the beaches

CALIFORNIA 91

young men and girls go in bathing together in
crowds. When they come out of the water they
lie on the sand basking in the sun. They play
there for a long while side by side, looking at
each other and laughing, laughing especially.
The women laugh a great deal for the pleasure of
laughing and showing their teeth, which are very
beautiful. And those young men never take ad-
vantage of such situations. They do not even
seem to be tempted. It is a matter of tempera-
ment, you may say. Perhaps, but it is also a
matter of education. From their earliest infancy,
boys and girls have rubbed up against each other

on the school benches. For this mixture of the

*

two sexes in the schools is another American
peculiarity. The little boy's mother has previous-
ly taught him this lesson: "You are going to
school. You will meet little girls there. You
must protect them because they are weaker than
you are."

This precept of the mother to her small son
forms the man's ideas throughout the whole of
his life. The American man respects woman
because he regards himself as her protector. He
knows that she is weaker than he, and because
of the nobility of his feelings thinks that it would

92 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

be odious to try to take advantage of her. It is
this feeling of the protection due to the weak
which roused these people in our behalf in this
war and made them hurl themselves into the
torture. It is because of this quality that the
American people, whatever else may be said
about them, are one of (lie most civilized races
in the world.

Nevertheless, one must not judge American
morals by the attitude of some of the troops who
caroused around our streets and boulevards after
the armistice. I hope that I will not give rise
to any objections by saying that in my country
we did not see that courtesy and noble respect
with which men treat women in America. But,
after all, can one judge a people by their be-
havior abroad, especially during the confusion
of a war? Would we admit of being judged in
England and France by our refugees alone? The
answer lies not in this but in the fact that the
American man, accustomed to so much real sin-
cerity in the modesty of women at home, was
startled when he went abroad. The alluring
manoeuvres and all the knowing arts of entice-
ment which he was in no way armed to meet

CALIFORNIA 93

stunned and intoxicated him. Between the boule-
vards of New York and those of Paris, London
or Brussels, there is the same difference that
exists between a river with clear water and a
malarial marsh. I am not exaggerating. Those
who have frequented both boulevards will vouch
for it. On the "George Washington," a young
officer of the marines who regularly made the
journey between New York and Brest, confided
to me his preference for the calls at the French
port, because there, he added with significant
mimicry, the women are more "amusing." That
young officer was probably an excellent fellow at
home and a scamp abroad. Whose fault is it?
That of the women. A long while ago the Prince
of Ligne wrote: "In every country the men
make the laws and the women make the morals."

The American woman likes to adorn herself
and dress luxuriantly. Whatever one may
say, she dresses well. The fashion of wearing
decollete is very popular over there. I have often
noticed in Europe that the more a woman tries
to dress up the more she takes oif. This is equal-
ly true in America.

Still, if I may be forgiven for going back to it,

94 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

the American woman is not coquettish. Paul
Bourget, who has studied her behavior, gives
these words of a French woman in contrast :

"I have never dressed for a ball without know-
ing for whom I was going."

The American woman dresses in order to be
beautiful, but beautiful for her own sake, be-
cause she is well made and because she thinks
that what is well made should be well dressed.
Love does not occupy much space in the life of the
American woman. She certainly thinks about
it less than her European sisters. Her emotions
are less fragile. Perhaps one of the causes of
this lies in that physical energy which she im-
poses on herself through exercise. As a young
girl she shows no haste in getting married. This
condition, moreover, does not seem in the least
enviable to her. When married she will lose
that constant homage, that discreet and respect-
ful solicitation with which men over there sur-
round a young girl. They will pay less atten-
tion to her because in the United States it is
commonly considered that a married woman be-
longs to her husband. Marriage, moreover,
means to the young ghi the loss of her freedom.
Up till then she has lived a life of absolute free-

CALIFORNIA 95

dom do not talk to me of family life or paren-
tal authority; all that so seldom exists! when
married, she will give herself a master. In order
to make up for the sacrifice she has made for
him, this master will often think that the least he
can do is to work like a slave for her all his life.

CHAPTER V

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC

WHEN the three days of rest in the oasis
of Santa Barbara were over, the King
resumed his journey through the United States
and came back towards the Atlantic. Once again
he crossed the great expanse of the New World.
Up to the arrival of our Sovereigns in California,
the speed of their journey had been extraordi-
nary. But from the time we left Santa Barbara
to the day we reached Washington, it was a mad
race. The halts on this return were marked
chiefly by visits to cities. Every morning we
arrived in one of these great centers with all the
ceremony of an official visit.

At about nine o'clock the King would leave his
train. He would be received by delegates, and
would then proceed through the city with his
suite. He would go to greet the municipality,
visit the principal monuments and factories,
have the important people presented to him, and

06

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 97

see those who had done things for Belgium dur-
ing the war and thank them, etc. This strenuous
activity lasted all day long, and then at night the
King returned to his train and was carried off
at break-neck speed to another city, where he
spent the next day in his usual round of duties.
I shall not tell of the wild enthusiasm and
feverish ovations witli which the very generous
American people greeted our Sovereign in every
one of these cities. These detailed descriptions
would be too tiresome and boring. I must, how-
ever, mention a few of the novel features which
struck me in some of the cities, either in their
customs, their picturesque aspect or their in-
dustrial situation. *

San Francisco

After leaving Santa Barbara, our Sovereigns
went to San Francisco. What a contrast to the
peaceful spot they had just left was presented
by the frantic commotion and tumult of the
great Calif ornian port ! The immense expansion
of that city, which was originally founded by a
handful of adventurers in quest of gold mines,
is well known. As in New York, though it is

98 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

even more marked here, one meets members of
every race crowding each other on the sidewalks :
Germans almost as numerous as Americans, and
Irish, French, Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese,
Filipinos and Kanakas. I also felt that fever-
ish life, that inconceivable energy of ceaseless
work that characterizes New York. Before see-
ing the end of the royal retinue, the passers-by
who had gathered together to greet the King
went on with their rush of activities. They are
blind to anything outside of their own interests.
They are thinking of the things they have to do
and of the success of their business. No sooner
do they catch sight of a new business idea than
they run after it.

"But when do these people live?" some one ex-
claimed on witnessing this spectacle. "What
time have they for dreaming, living, or even
dying?"

For the American does not know how to live
in the philosophic sense of the word. He does
not know how to collect his thoughts, to com-
mune with himself and become stirred by in-
ward contemplation. He is especially ignorant
of how to stop in the midst of a sensation, to
consider himself as a feeling and living indi-

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 99

vidual. He never thinks: "I rejoice now, I am
happy." He does not know that refinement
which consists in analyzing his happiness, in
dissecting it to appreciate it better in all of its
phases. He seeks that happiness "en bloc," all
at once. But when he has attained it, he does
not taste its full flavor because he thinks only
of increasing it. And in order to increase it he
sets off at full speed, rushing to new sensations,
burning away his life, wasting his days, and al-
ways repeating that time is money.

Time is indeed money, but is not this value of
time better appreciated by those who know how
to stop to look at it ajid see themselves living in
it? Having been warned of its brevity, they get
the best that they can from it in an epicureanism
of good alloy. Wisdom does not belong to the
business men who think that time is money; it
belongs to the philosophers, thinkers, dreamers,
poets and all those who consider time to be life.
In the United States people grow old without
living.

The King and his suite visited San Francisco
by motor and made the tour of its magnificent
bay. The splendor and richness of that immense

100 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

harbor are famous. The great bare mountains
which surround it remind one of the shores of
Greece, especially at Athens.

We were interested in seeing the Seal Rocks
at a stone's throw from the beach. These rocks,
beaten by the waves, are covered with great sea
lions which are never driven away. Some of
them measure twelve feet and weigh a thousand
pounds or more. In spite of the noise of the surf,
one can clearly hear the raucous barking of these
animals.

While passing through this city 1 was able to
notice a small detail which on the surface does
not seem very important, but which nevertheless
throws light on one of the most beautiful sides
of the American character : honesty.

In San Francisco on the corners of the streets
and avenues one sees letter boxes in which, as
in Belgium, the passers-by put in their mail.
But the peculiar thing about these letter boxes
is that on their flat tops are placed letters and
packages too bulky to go through the openings.
The crowd walks by all thin exposed mail, appar-
ently without having the slightest thought of
taking any of it. Being curious, I went up to

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 101

one of these boxes in order to see more closely
of what the pile really consisted, and took hold
of one of the parcels. Several people saw what
I did, but nobody seemed to be worried about it.
Not one had the slightest idea that I might be
committing larceny.

This honesty is shown in other ways also. It
is found at the doors of some museums and stores
where books of different values are exposed. A
placard gives the respective prices: $1.00, $1,50,
$2.00, etc. The cashier is represented by a tray
left there. In my country many would certainly
go off with a two-dollar book and only entrust

a dollar or less to the blind tray. But it is quite

%

the contrary with Yankee honesty.

I could give many more examples of this, men-
tioning the news-stand dealers who leave their
counters on the street corner, trusting the buyers
to fling their change, and those automobiles
which are left all night long in the street in front
of the door. But what difference does any other
evidence make? Does not this confidence which
they have in one another reveal the profound in-
tegrity of these people, a loyalty of spirit which
is in the very blood of the race?

102 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

An American to whom I expressed my admira-
tion of the honesty of his people answered me
whimsically :

"Sir, the American people never steal on a
small scale!"

I have often been struck in America, and es-
pecially in San Francisco, by the diversity of
the merchandise sold in the department stores
and shops. In Belgium each store sells one arti-
cle exclusively. In the United States this is
rarely the case. The type of store which one
most frequently sees is that which accumulates
in its show-window books, post-cards, soap, al-
monds, cigars, chewing gum and kodaks. More-
over, the importance of a store seems to depend
on the diversity of goods it displays. I visited
one of these curious establishments in New York.
If some customer had gone in there naked, he
could have come out completely clothed, with
shoes on, his hair done, and laden with provisions
in abundance and theater tickets. I remember
that it was possible to buy land and houses there.
Cradles and hearses were on sale.

In the large stores, moreover, you can have
your shoes shined. The negro bootblack is there
watching the customer and ready to precipitate

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 103

himself at his feet at the slightest motion. This
same negro lies in wait for you at all the street
corners, in all the barber shops, at all soda foun-
tains and other public places. This is because
they do not clean shoes in the American hotels.
I am only mentioning this detail, which might
otherwise seem childish, because it is one of the
first indications of the lack of real comfort in
the United States. Indeed, this American com-
fort which has been so praised is much more ap-
parent than real. It lacks two elements without
which it seems it cannot exist: refinement of
manners and customs and domestic service. I
have already spoken of the customs. As for serv-
ice, it is more rare in the United States than in
any other country. Is not that intention of
every workman to become independent and every
servant to become his own master a result of
carrying democracy to an excess? One of the
attaches of the embassy at Washington who lived
in an apartment confided to me that he had to go
to a tailor to have a button sewed on his trousers.
In Belgium we complain of the lack of servants.
The crisis in the United States is much more
serious. Servants have such unreasonable de-
mands that many people find it more advanta-

104 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

geous to live permanently in a hotel. It is this
scarcity of labor that causes those mechanical
devices to be multiplied everywhere in which the
ignorant foreigner sees the mark of supreme com-
fort.

In the conglomeration of articles which are
piled up in the shop windows one notices books
especially, as I have said before: Books are
found everywhere in America. As they are
shown behind glass in the stores, so they are
spread out on the news-stands of the streets and
parks. Many individuals have their own libra-
ries at home. Still the American reads little.
He has not time. But he likes to surround him-
self with books because a book is an idea and
he reverences ideas. Although he is not an ideolo-
gist, he is a fanatic on the subject of ideas. A
young people, they have not that exquisite in-
tellectualism which runs through our Latin
races. But they are anxious to acquire it and
strive to reach it. This effort is assuredly praise-
worthy.

Most of the books sold in public booths are
novels. Not that literature of the gutter which
floods our boulevards, but honest rosewater and
barleysugar prose. One could transport the

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 105

whole stock of a dealer in second-hand books into
the library of a girls' boarding-school with per-
fect safety. There are many detective stories and
tales of amusing exploits among these novels.

One may well be astonished at the great num-
ber of historical studies published by American
authors. They have no real history any more
than they have a real intellectualism, because
all their political life dates only from the Revo-
lution at the end of the 18th century. Never-
theless, they aspire to the latter with the same
ardor that they desire the former. They want
to discover a history for themselves at all haz-
ards. Let us hope, for the sake of their happi-
ness and prosperity, that they will never have
one.

As the Americans have no history, so they
have no traditions. It is true that this deprives
them of that poetry and nobility which make
the old races so respectable, but it gives them, on
the other hand, a great facility for progress. No
habit or sacred custom hinders their improve-
ment. Make way for the young! Nowhere else
as in America is this formula in order. Away
with obsolete systems! No more autocracy of
the past generation ! It is the spirit of initiative,

106 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

energy and decision which governs them. Doubt-
less these customs cannot help overtaking us in
Europe though we have in our hearts a venera-
tion for our ancestors and a love of old rites.
But this does not prevent a little Americanism
from being of use to us. What advantages would
we not gain from freeing ourselves from some of
our old customs! Was it not against this tyran-
ny of conventions that Chamfort rebelled when
he cried out :

"The most absurd habits and most ridiculous
etiquette exist in France and elsewhere under
the protection of this one word : custom. It is
precisely the same word that the Hottentots give
as an answer when they are asked why they eat
the vermin with which they are covered."

The King and Prince Leopold did not want
to leave San Francisco without visiting the
Chinese quarter. Chinatown is very picturesque
with its curved roofs and the luxury of the silk
tunics and pantaloons of those yellow-faced and
flat-nosed people who look at you defiantly with
their almond-shaped eyes as they go by, with that
painful expression which comes from wearing
narrow slippers which pinch their toes.

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 107

The King was followed by several detectives
during this visit, because it is well known that
these Chinese quarters are of such ill repute that
a stranger cannot venture there alone without ex-
posing himself to danger. Our Sovereign and
his son listened to the bizarre and discordant
tunes which individuals with faces like sorcerers
extracted from strange instruments. They pene-
trated one of those famous Joss Houses, temples
where little packages scented with incense are
given out and where Orientals come to ask their
god for a remedy which will cure them.

They nevertheless did not visit any opium den
because the heavy tax which the American gov-
ernment has put on this product has reduced its
consumption. The King visited a Chinese theater
but was unable to attend a performance since
he only had one day to spend in San Francisco
and a Chinese play often lasts several days,
sometimes several weeks.

Los Angeles

From San Francisco our Sovereigns went down
the Pacific coast and reached Los Angeles, right-
ly called the Nice of America. This charming

108 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

city of sun and light, covered with flowers, lies
softly on the slope of a mountain bathing its feet
in the waves of a blue ocean. But the visit of
our Sovereigns was brief. They hardly devoted
more than a couple of hours to Los Angeles,
but were carried away in their motors amid the
cheers of a zealous and generous people to the
"Cinema Kingdom" situated near by.

This "Cinema Kingdom" on the outskirts of
Los Angeles belongs to a stupendously rich
American company and is surely one of the curi-
osities of the world. Imagine a huge park pro-
tected by a belt of metal trellis. The traveler
w r ho had not been warned and who crossed the
barrier of the enclosure would think that he was
walking in a dream. Here on the right were
mosques with their minarets, and the white,
irregular walls of on Oriental city; on the left,
on the top of a hill, lay an ancient mediseval
castle with its towers like sentry-boxes, its walls,
its drawbridges, its battlements, its forts, its
outworks; in front windmills were turning and
the neat houses of a Dutch village lay dreaming
in the sun. Thus at every step another corner
of the earth rose before our eyes or a lost age
came to life again. In the midst of all this

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 109

scenery men and women In costume were acting
scenes which moving-picture machines recorded.

Here was a modern drawing-room where a
handsome young man was making love to a pret-
ty girl, when a rival suddenly rushed in and
carried on a scene of violent jealousy with the
young couple. And here was the engine room
of a submarine in which officers and sailors,
asphyxiated through lack of air, were dying a
horrible death.

All this scenery is of wood and painted card-
board. One can imagine the enormous cost of
this gigantic establishment which extends over
more than two hundred acres. But they assured
us that its profit was considerable. The radiant
light of California is particularly favorable for
this kind of enterprise.

One knows the vogue which His Majesty the
Cinema enjoys with us. It is nevertheless en-
tirely out of proportion compared with that in
the United States. It is a popular passion over
there. In the large towns there is hardly a street
which does not own a moving-picture theater.
Some movie stars have a fame which far sur-
passes that of our best artists. Who has not
heard of the famous Charlie, celebrated for his

110 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

farces and buffooneries, and whose reputation
has spread as far as the old world? Different
companies fight with gold for the services of one
of these movie stars. One of our newspapers
recently announced that this idol had just signed
a contract guaranteeing him a million dollars
for turning out eight pictures. A million dol-
lars! That is to say, according to exchange be-
fore the war, a little more than five million
francs, and today actually thirteen or fourteen
million ! A mere trifle !

The same newspaper said that a certain
"Fatty" had signed a contract for three years
bringing him in three millions. The actor agreed
to play eight two-act films a year. Here is a
gentleman who in the space of three years will
earn a fortune of thirty million francs in our
currency. It is bewildering, to say the least.

In finishing this sketch of the movie fever in
the United States, I must add that in Los Angeles
the children in the schools make their films them-
selves. They reproduce their sports and their
associations and write scenarios. They give
weekly performances with their own machines in
the assembly hall of the school where their
parents, filled with pride and emotion, come to

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 111

admire the talent of their offspring. In order
to combine the useful with the agreeable, edu-
cational films are also shown.

The Grand Canyon. The Red-Skins

And now our Sovereigns, having at last left
the wonders of California, started east again.
Crossing Arizona, they stopped for a few hours
at the Grand Canyon, which is undoubtedly one
of the most extraordinary curiosities of the pic-
turesque world. In spite of the fact that by its
depth and the steepness of its perpendicular
slopes this valley reminded us of the Yosemite,
it cannot be compared with it. Its red cliffs on
which no vegetation grows and its rocky depths
through which runs a muddy stream give it an
entirely different aspect. It is like an immense
caldron of brick-colored copper, fourteen miles
in width. It is an extraordinary phenomenon,
this enormous hole which is not the result of
eruption and upheaval, but of a slow depression
of the earth worn away by subterranean streams.

Three Indian tribes live on the edges of the

Grand Canyon. They organized dances in honor

<*
of the King. A great yellow monster whose face

112 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

was streaked with many colors and whose body
was covered with feathers, gesticulated for sev-
eral minutes, uttering guttural cries and waving
a spear and shield over his head.

The most interesting dance, however, was with-
out doubt the "Dance of Tears." A handful of
men just like the first in their grotesque make-
up ran around in a circle single file, singing a
vague sort of dirge. After a quarter of an hour
this race became frenzied and painful. The danc-
ers were completely out of breath. Nevertheless,
they went on stamping and wailing. Then their
chant began to resemble groans, cries and sobs
as a result of their exhaustion. It was the
"Dance of Tears" in all its glory.

After it was over the King summoned the chief
of the dance to him and pinned a medal on his
breast which was beating like a bird's wing.
Sekakuku that was his name opened his
mouth (it is true that he was so out of breath
that he could hardly close it) at the sight of this
beautiful red ribbon and this medal which was
shining so brightly. Then he went off to carry
his new fetich to the men of his tribe who con-
gratulated him, lifting up their arms to the sky.

How proud he was, that chief of the dance !

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 111

The King's Mail

In the United States the railroad is not pro-
tected from the public by hedges and fences as
it is in Europe. It passes through small towns
and villages in the open. The train slows up in
these places and warns the passers-by by means
of a great bell on the engine. Every time the
train stopped the crowd wouJd surround the
King's car and gaze at it. When our Sovereign
showed himself on the observation platform with
the Queen, he was greeted by shouts and cheers.
The men would put out their hands in order to

reach that of the gallant King, while the women

%

lifted their children up towards the Queen hop-
ing that she might be gracious enough to pet
them, and our Sovereigns never failed to respond.
At each one of these stops numerous letters
were delivered on board the train. Most of them
came from people living in the country and were
addressed to the King and Queen. Some of these
offered them money, others asked for it. One of
them was a request from a man who was in prison
in New Hampshire for killing his wife. He
begged for his release for a few weeks so that he
could go to see his old mother who lived in Bel-

114 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

gium. The King communicated this request to
the consul at Washington.

But generally these letters contained welcom-
ing messages. Some were charming in their
naivet6. I must quote one which I have here
right in front of me, written in pencil in a child's
handwriting and signed "Edith." Edith prob-
ably thought that Her Majesty was called
"Queen" as well as "Elizabeth," because this is
the way she began :

"Dear Madam Queen :

"I am a little American girl. I go to a school
on a mountain covered with pines. I heard that
you were going to Washington. I hope that you
will also come to see me in my school. I know
a great many things and I will tell them to you.
I helped to make clothes for the Belgian chil-
dren during the war. I prayed for you a lot.
My sister prayed too. I have never been to Wash-
ington. I am ten years old. My sister is eight.
Good-bye!"

The journey was lightened with charming epi-
sodes of this sort, while our Sovereigns crossed

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 115

New Mexico and Kansas and reached St. Louis,
the great city of Missouri.

St. Louis

The generous sympathy given to our country
during the war by the beautiful city of Missouri
is well known. Its aldermen made a special de-
cision that for six weeks all the factories of the
city (and one must see the factories of St. Louis
in order to get an idea of their colossal output)
should be operated solely in the manufacture of
clothing for the Belgian people. St. Louis was
able to tell our Sovereign with pride that of all
the cities of the United States it had sent the
largest amount of clothing to "Belgium.

St. Louis, the rival of Chicago in the meat
packing industry, was founded, like many other
cities in the United States, by a handful of
French immigrants. The names of many streets
and families still recall that fact to-day.

The King gazed with admiration at the gigan-
tic bridge thrown across the Mississippi. This
extraordinary bridge is about 6,000 feet long. It
was built in 1869 at a cost of $20,000,000 and con-

118 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

indomitable courage in the face of the enemy,
firmness and far-sightedness these are the qual-
ities which were incarnated in your illustrious
President."

Then the King repeated those words of Lin-
coln after the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 which
decided the war of Secession:

" 'It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedi-
cated here to the unfinished work which they who
fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.' I
who have come to-day from a far country will
never forget those words of 'your President. I
can find in his example the power and firmness
which make a leader worthy of his nation and
cause him to devote himself to the task of prog-
ress and idealism which great Lincoln so nobly
began."

Cincinnati

Our visit to Cincinnati was among the most
interesting of the journey. As we were told, the
name Cincinnati was given to the great Ohio
city because it was founded at the time of the
War of Independence by a group of young men
who, like the Eoman Cincinnatus, had left the

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 119

plow to fight for the freedom of their country.

The King made a special visit to the great
chemical factory built during the war by Messra.
Ault and Wiborg. The main idea of our Sov-
ereign in inspecting these establishments was to
pay a debt of gratitude to its directors who
showed great generosity towards our country.
It was with a patriotic aim that Ault and Wiborg
started their factory.

"The Germans have always from the very be-
ginning had the monopoly of the manufacture
of chemical products here," they explained to the
King. "This gave them great power. More-
over, we wanted to take this power away from
them. And we can say that after the efforts
of two years we succeeded, for here is a factory
which to-day rivals theirs."

The directors pointed with legitimate pride to
their establishment, which extends over a large
area in the very heart of Cincinnati. The King
went through some of the buildings which were
filled with strong chemical odors. He leaned
over gigantic vats at the bottom of which bitter
liquids were boiling whose fumes made one's eyes
fill with tears. He noticed the "dyeing presses,"
from which flowed rivers of colored ink.

120 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

It may perhaps be of interest to know that
the annual production of the Ault and Wiborg
factory is six million pounds of cloth and paper
dyes, and eight million pounds of printers' ink.

At the very end, the visit to the family mansion
of former President Taft, with its wonderful col-
lection of pictures and works of art, was full of
interest and charm. This time the atmosphere
of the place was not ruined, as it was in the house
of Lincoln, by the anachronism of a victrola
playing our national anthem and by modern
colored prints.

Going through the halls and rooms of this
luxurious house, our Sovereigns were able to ad-
mire the works of masters of all the European
schools. Arranged with exquisite taste were
paintings by Van Dyck, liembrandt, Jean Steen,
Marys, Terburg, Frans Hals, Corot, Dupre,
Daubigny, and also by representatives of the
English school Gainsborough, Turner, Con-
stable and Lawrence.

We were struck by the kindness and sustained
attention with which the King studied these pic-
tures. Again and again he expressed his ad-
miration. Our Sovereign, as is well known, takes

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 121

the greatest interest in the progress of the arts.
During this journey in the United States he gave
frequent proofs of it. Thus while visiting the
Carnegie Institute at Pittsburg a few days later,
he asked for many details about its contents.
This institute was founded by the steel king with
a view to encouraging the arts and sciences.
Built in 1892 in the style of the Italian Kenais-
sance, it cost its generous Maecenas more than a
million dollars.

I must mention in this connection that one
frequently comes across museums, libraries and
universities founded by the bequests of great mil-
lionaires in the United States. These donors
act according to the idea that since they have
accumulated a great fortune from society, they
owe something to it in return. Honce, it is their
love of art and intellectual} sm that determines
the form of their gift. We must also beware of
making fun of the Americans in the realm of art
and ideas, for they have a sentiment which,
though less erudite, is perhaps more beautiful
and generous than ours. Aside from the rarest
exceptions, where are our Maecenases who
patronize art, science and literature? Where

WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

are the Harvards and Carnegies who found, or
only vie with each other in founding, universities
and museums?

But since I am speaking of American art, I
may be allowed to insert a little parenthesis here.
Is there a real American art? No, answers
ancient Europe mercilessly. It is a fact that dur-
ing our trip through America we did not see any-
where a monument that showed a really national
art. Moreover, these people and this is a curi-
ous observation do not give the impression of
being artistic because they are too strong, too
vigorous, too healthy, and also because their dol-
lars ring too clearly and shine too frankly. Is
there not need for more refinement, more deli-
cacy, more tenuity, so to speak, to acquire that
sub til ty of taste which creates true art?

Paul Bourget, who has studied the Americans
in this respect, has made fua of them: "The
only art they have is what they have taken
from us." And again, speaking of one of their
picture galleries where he noticed the portrait
of Napoleon, he cites with double malice this
saying of one who did not love them : "Yes, they
have the portrait of the great Emperor, but
where is that of their grandfather?"

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC US

It is nevertheless true that if the Americans
up till now have not had a real creative ability,
neither have they had one which is antagonistic
to art. Nowhere during his journey in the deco-
ration of public buildings or private residences
did the King meet with a single mistake in taste,
or an injury to the aesthetic sense which one sees
at every step in stolid Germany. And, what is
even better, these people carry good taste into
the architecture of their houses and into their
interiors, creating a very simple style which is
not overloaded, and which has no studied re-
finement except that of line. Would our archi-
tects succeed in building 1 sky-scrapers in the
middle of a city which would not be elephantine?
But in America they erect buildings of forty
or fifty stories which, far from being heavy, are
slender and graceful.

Even if the Americans have not yet an art,
they have good taste and aesthetic sense which
seem to me to be ite precursors. During his visit
to Cincinnati, the King confided to the violinist
Ysaye : "I believe that in about fifty years Amer-
ica will be the first country in the world in the
realm of art and literature as well as in that of
economics." Perhaps our Sovereign was a little

124 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

optimistic in giving America such a short period
of delay. The country seems too young to have
the maturity which is indispensable to an artistic
people. But I believe that there will come a day
when, following the call of genius, American art,
latent to-day, will suddenly blossom forth and
develop with that formidable energy and feverish
progress characteristic of the American spirit.
Who knows but that the old world in a century
or two, after the groping of pioneers, may not see
rising out of America one of those sparkling
pleiades who flourished in Attica as Scopas,
Phydias and Praxiteles; in the Renaissance as
Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Eaphael, Correggio
and Michael Angelo, and in the Netherlands as
Reubens, Van Dyck and Rembrandt?

On the occasion of our visit to Cincinnati, a
center where the German element is very large,
some of us thought we noticed a certain coldness
in the greeting of the inhabitants. It is only
fair to say, however, that we were so accustomed
to whistles and uproar that when they did not
break our eardrums we thought that our recep-
tion was lacking in warmth. Nevertheless, it is

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 125

true that the foreign element Kussian, Polish,
Scandinavian, Italian and Irish, as well as Ger-
man forms a large part of the population of the
United States. In order to enjoy the same privi-
leges as native-born Americans, these immigrants
have asked for and obtained naturalization; but
most of them keep in their hearts a dangerous
loyalty for their old country dangerous to the
Union which on the occasion of a contradiction
or conflict with one of these foreign countries
might find serious divergencies rising within it.
As I am writing these lines the New York
"Herald" announces that the Foreign Eela-
tions Committee of the Senate will shortly
place before the government a peace resolution
marking the refusal of the United States to rati-
fy the Treaty of Versailles, and renouncing at
the same time all further participation in the
settlement of European questions. Is the spirit
of this resolution not inspired, among other
motives, by the necessity of pacifying certain
elements of the population and by a desire not
to arouse new internal susceptibilities in the
future? It has been asserted that America was
called to play the role of arbitrator in the world.

126 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

For the reason that I have just mentioned, I do
not believe that she will ever be capable of play-
ing that rdle.

Talking of the diversity of races in the United
States, here are some statistics which the "Mer-
cure of France' 3 recently took from the federal
census of 1910 in order to comment on them.
At that time there were seven states (and let
us not forget that there are forty-eight in all)
where the proportion of foreign -born citizens
with reference to the total population was from
25 to 30% ; fifteen states where it was from 15
to 25% ; and six states where it was from 10 to
15%. If one counts citizens born in the United
States of foreign or mixed parentage, one gets
the following figures: in thirteen states more
than 50% of the inhabitants belong to the two
classes mentioned above, and in eleven states
there are from 35 to 50%. In 1910 there were
more than thirteen million foreign-born in the
United States, 18% of whom were Germans, 12%
Russians, 12% Austrians and Hungarians (in-
cluding Poles, Czechs and Slavs), 10% Irish
and 9% British subjects. In 1910 among fifty
cities of more than 100,000 inhabitants there
were ten where the foreign-born citizens consti-

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 137

tuted more than a third of the total population :
from 33% in Detroit and 35% in Chicago up to
40% in New York and 42% in Lowell; and in
only fourteen of these fifty cities was half of the
white native population native-born.

By the help of these figures one sees the prob-
lem in its formidable simplicity. If the immi-
grants on arrival were immediately absorbed into
the native population, their assimilation would
be relatively swift. This is true among those who
come in small crowds or who, when they arrive,
do not find their compatriots firmly fixed in
groups. But the German, Italian, Scandinavian,
Bussian, Czech and Polish immigrants have es-
tablished real foreign colonies in the large cities
at least, where they have their quarters, their
leaders and their newspapers. These people live
among themselves as is very natural, and if they
become naturalized, instead of becoming just
plain American citizens, they become German-
Americans, Italian- Americans, Czecho- Ameri-
cans, etc. It is a double nationality, a hyphe-
nated nationality, as they call it colloquially
over there. Here is the danger, and it can weigh
heavily on the internal and foreign policy of the
Union. Indeed, it already weighs heavily on

128 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

municipal elections in the great centers where
each party tries to curry favor with the different
nationalities by putting up candidates of every
race. If this phenomenon is carried into the
realm of national politics, it will be a source of
great peril to the Union. This danger, more-
over, has seemed imminent ever since the United
States took part in the European war. Before
April, 1917, the German- Americans in general
did not hide their very natural sympathy for
Germany; since then they remained quiet, but
of what are they thinking? More recently, in
May, 1919, the sensational declaration of Presi-
dent Wilson on the Adriatic question excited the
Italians in America in favor of Italy's claims, in
opposition to those of their adopted country. As
for the Irish naturalized Americans, they are
only American in so far as it can benefit Ireland.
As early as 1880, J. E. Lowell, American Am-
bassador to London, complained bitterly of those
who, coming back to their native town, carried
on anti-British agitation under the cover of their
new allegiance; it embarrassed and interfered
with the actions of the ambassador. Indeed, these
people were only Americans to the extent that

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC 129

the United States could give weight to their
claims.

Philadelphia

I will stop for a fleeting moment in this city,
the third largest in the United States, to recall
that gigantic naval yard built on the Delaware
Eiver which our Sovereigns and their suite
visited one beautiful autumn afternoon. In gi-
gantic wooden frames which were arranged along
the river-front for about a mile and a half, ships
were being built. There were fifty boats in the
process of construction at the same time. Every
twenty-eight hours one of them was launched.
The King was able to witness the launching of a
boat at that very moment. The workmen who
had built it were standing on its decks while
the cables which kept it in its wooden cradle were
cut. There was suddenly a great cracking,
greeted by a formidable "three cheers" from all
the spectators. And while the strains of the
national anthem resounded in the air, the ship
glided on its oiled ways, dipped its bow into the
ocean, maMng a great mass of foam spurt out

ISO WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

from its sides, and finally floated, a proud ruler
of the ocean.

In order to take the 30,000 workmen who were
employed in this shipyard back to the city, a
station was built from which trains black with
men left every minute.

CHAPTER VI

WASHINGTON

IN America a city is built in the same time
that a monument is erected in Europe," I
exclaimed, in speaking of that prodigious city
of Chicago, which, though only an encampment
of a few adventurers in 1831, to-day numbers al-
most four million souls.

Washington is less prodigious, but neverthe-
less in the face of that rich capital of the United
States, that city of avenues and squares so ma-
jestic in their outline, it is hard to think that a
century ago it consisted only of a few farms and
pastures on the bank of a river, the Potomac.

The Americans call Washington the most
beautiful city in the United States. To tell the
truth, the stranger who goes there thus informed
cannot help being rather disillusioned. There
is a melancholy and almost sad air about those
wide avenues drowned in trees and those houses
built uniformly of red brick. This city is, more-

131

132 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

over, so spread out, its arteries are so large, its
houses so far apart from each other, and its
parks so numerous, that it gives the appearance
of being sparsely populated. The traveler who
comes from imposing and vibrating New York
thinks that he will find the capital of the United
States the center of strenuous life and of Ameri-
can activity, but only finds a life which in con-
trast seems hopelessly calm and bourgeois.

The suburbs are more beautiful than the heart
of the city. Rich villas, palaces of white marble
are situated there. The green lawns and dark
box hedges which surround them give that white-
ness a brilliant radiancy. The White House, the
residence of President Wilson, is built in this
style. As I have already said, the President was
unable to receive our Sovereign officially, but the
King nevertheless went to his host's bedside and
had a long talk with him.

Although a little heavy in its massive form,
the Capitol at Washington, because of its im-
posing proportions and the unheard-of luxury
of its interior arrangements, is the most remark-
able building in Washington the best in the
world, some Americans assert, with their inno-
cent mania for breaking records. Yes, doubtless

WASHINGTON 133

the most beautiful in America, but in the world?
. . . Uncle Sam is too fond of forgetting old
Europe when he makes his records. I believe
that some of the European capitols, like that
wonder of Ionic architecture at Toulouse, eclipse
every American capitol without doubt. Still,
the building at Washington, with its cupola sus-
pended at a height of three hundred feet, its
monumental staircase and its two wings of white
marble which are 142 feet in length, has an im-
posing beauty.

It is in tliis huge structure that the representa-
tives of the American people come together to
discuss the res publica. It was in this palace, in
the name of this people, that homage so brilliant
and so solemn was rendered to our King and to
Belgium that it was really the crowning and
apotheosis of our trip.

From among a thousand beautiful words I
wish to quote a few which were spoken by Sena-
tor Cummins before the entire assembly:

"What would have happened if Germany, after
having crushed Europe and driven Asia into sub-
mission, had turned her lust towards America?
I do not know. Nobody knows. But we do know
that a country small in its territory and in the

134 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

number of soldiers but peerless in its loyalty
to Christian principles and human liberty
raised itself up before the footsteps of this mon-
ster and in a transport of supreme sacrifice saved
the freedom of the world. If the sons and daugh-
ters of our race ever forget that sacrifice or re-
member it otherwise than with gratitude and
respect, the world which Belgium saved will be
unworthy of its deliverance."

It is evident in the eyes of generous America
that it is not we who owe her gratitude, but she
who remains our debtor. Our debtor! She who
in our hour of distress sent us provisions across
the ocean to keep us alive, sent us clothing to
put on our backs, and her sons to save us ! We
can never measure the debt of gratitude we owe
the noble country of Washington.

During his visit in the capital of the United
States, the King made a point of going to Mount
Vernon, where the remains of General George
Washington are buried. Mount Vernon is about
fourteen miles from the city on the banks of the
Potomac in the state of Virginia.

It was on a soft late afternoon of October in
Washington that our Sovereign embarked on
the "Mayflower," the yacht of President Wilson

WASHINGTON 135

which had been placed at the disposal of his
guest. The yacht sailed for a long while between
banks covered with wild forests whose foliage
autumn had colored with bright tints of purple
and gold. From time to time on the very edge
of the river, the white gable of a mansion was
reflected in the water. These are the places
where the aristocracy of Washington come to
spend their hours of leisure during the season.
The air was soft and warm. Not a ripple stirred
the water which was as smooth as a mirror. The
yacht glided along as if in a dream. Gulls with
great wings were flying in circles around the
prow. From time to time a flock of wild chicks
formed a triangle against the sky. An unseen
orchestra which played secretly added charm to
the hour.

But suddenly an unexpected blare of a bugle
called the crew on deck. At the top of a hill
we caught sight of a white colonial mansion
which seemed asleep behind its closed shutters.
There it was ! The boat stopped in the middle of
the river. While the officers and sailors stood
at attention, and the King, his hand on his mili-
tary cap, saluted with deep emotion, the bugles
sent the strains of the "Hymn of Sleep" a

186 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

melody as slow as a dirge and sad as a sob
rolling off towards the steep banks.

Several small boats came up to the "May-
flower." The King and his suite disembarked
and approached the hill, which was shaded by
willows leaning over the water like curtains with
long fringe. I believe I have said that America
lacks refinement of feeling, that she ignores that
poetry of the soul which belongs to Latin peoples.
That night, nevertheless, in the face of certain
manifestations of American reverence, this con-
viction was strangely shattered. Is it not a sense
of great tact arid delicacy which forbids visitors
at Mount Vernon to smoke in the park which was
formerly inhabited by the great and mourned
president?

The King and Queen walked in front as we
started up the avenue which goes up the hill and
leads to the tomb of Washington. As we went
along the officers reminded me in a low tone of
voice of certain episodes in the life of the "Lib-
erator of America." How glorious was that hero
who earned the gratitude and love of his people
forever! In 1753, at the age of twenty-one, he
went to notify the French who were established
OB the Ohio Kiver to retire. As they refused,

WASHINGTON 137

lie compelled them to leave by force of arms. "A
few years later, when misunderstandings had
arisen between England and her American colo-
nies, Washington spoke with energy against the
English claims. He eyen preached complete in-
dependence for all the territory of the American
colonies. Having been proclaimed commander-
In-chief of the American army, in spite of the
numerical inferiority of Ms troops and lack of
provisions, he succeeded in driving the English
out of Boston, their main stronghold. But the
English, advancing towards the center, got hold
of Philadelphia. Washington rushed to the res-
cue and this time defeated the entire army of the
enemy. Two years later ( 1783 ) the Peace of Ver-
sailles forced England to recognize the inde-
pendence of the United States. A in ancient
days the Eoman Oincinnatus retired to his fields
after freeing Ms fatherland, Washington then re-
turned to Mount Vernon, where he again took up
his life of a country gentleman. He left it once
more, however, ^hen the United States became
a republic, and accepted its presidency in 1789.
He was reflected in 1793, and on the expiration
of this term refused the power which was offered
to him for the third time. Having definitely re-

138 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

tired to Mount Vernon, he took pleasure in the
gentle and peaceful joys of family life, and died
in 1799. The whole of America mourned his
loss and wore mourning for its liberator for a
month.

The King and Queen had now reached the tomb
of Washington. It is a very simple monument,
built according to the plan of him whose ashes
it contains, a memorial of red stones mingled
with the leaves of the willows. Above the gate
which guards the crypt is this inscription:
"Within this Enclosure Rest the Remains of Gen-
eral George Washington." In the crypt are two
sarcophagi of white marble. The one on the
right is that of the president, the other that of
his wife, Martha.

The majesty of the spot was not broken by a
single word. August silence reigned there, which
it would have been irreverent to break. Every-
body felt it, hence there were only signs. The
King having turned back towards his suite, took
from the hands of an officer a great wreath of
chrysanthemums and ribbons of the Belgian
colors on which could be read: "Albert and
Elizabeth, King and Queen of Belgium." He
penetrated into the crypt and, bowing his head

WASHINGTON 189

reverently, placed the wreath on the tomb of
Washington. It was an impressive sight, that
of this King, the most beautiful and noble figure
of modern times, bowing before the memory of
the first president of the United States.

The Queen and Prince entered the crypt in
turn and bowed reverently as the King had done.
Three wreaths were already there. The first had
been brought by Baron Moncheur, head of the
Belgian mission in 1917, the second by an Eng-
lish mission that same year, and the third by
General Joffre.

After a short visit to the house of Washington,
where all the furniture and belongings which he
used during his life-time are preserved, our Sov-
ereigns went down the hill and rembarked in
the "Mayflower," which brought them back in the
night.

Conclusion

In conclusion I should like to make a short
commentary on these words spoken by an Ameri-
can about the extraordinary sympathy which was
shown everywhere on the King's journey.

"The King of the Belgians/' this man ex-
claimed, "is busy conquering America."

140 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

How true were those words ! Before the King's
visit America loved the Belgian people, but she
loved them as an idea because she worshiped
the ideal of justice and it was displeasing to
her to see the strong crush the weak. Now, in
the footsteps of him who incarnated all the
strength and courage of that little people, this
love took form, became concrete, and was realized
in the wonderful traits of the renowned visitor.
In the eyes of America, Belgium at this minute
means Albert I.

Another side of this affection which arose out
of pity before the royal visit for it was with
this feeling particularly that America gave us
alms is that by favor of the King's journey, in
the face of his dignity and moral greatness, this
pity was turned into deep esteem and venera-
tion. No, Belgium is not a beggar who arouses
pity by uncovering her wounds; and in the future
America will continue to help her not as a poor
cousin but as a very noble little sister.

It has frequently been asked what would be
the effect on Belgium of her King's journey to the
United States. It would seem that these results
should be sought rather in the realm of morals
than in that of means. Our Sovereign did not

WASHINGTON 141

go over there to transact business and make con-
tracts, biit rather to increase the sympathy of
the Americans towards his people. It is in this
sympathy that material benefit will4*e derived to
Belgian business men and manufacturers in
knowing that it can be used in making advan-
tageous and definite commercial relations.
America is very well disposed to help Belgium
in her economic reconstruction. But let us be-
ware of degrading ourselves. Her intervention
in the future will riot be gratuitous; the moral
factors which moved her in the past to come to
our rescue through pity no longer exist. She
knows that Belgium has gained a new vitality
and is already rising again. Statements with
respect to this were made by the Belgian delega-
tion which at the time of the King's journey was
sitting at Salt Lake City under the chairman-
ship of M. Ilankar. These statements made a
very good impression. And it is precisely be-
cause America is assisting our courageous efforts
that, when she has become confident, she will be
willing to trade with us. May we profit by these
very favorable sentiments so that the economic
progress of our nation will be greatly advanced.
But if ever some call for help God preserve

WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

us from such a fate should be given by our
King or one of his descendants to the great people
on the other side of the Atlantic, there is no
doubt that the call will be heard and that in a
new wave of generosity powerful America will
save Belgium a second time.

CHAPTER VII

COMING HOME FROM AMERICA: THE ISLES OF
THE BLEST

BEFORE closing I must say a word about the
charming visit which the King and his suite
made at the port of Ponta del Oada on the island
of San Miguel (Azores), while recrossing the
Atlantic.

When our Sovereigns left Norfolk, Virginia,
with Europe as their destination, they had no
plan for visiting the Azores. It was only on
the third day of the crossing that the Queen, on
consulting the map, noticed that the boat which
was following a northeast coarse could bear more
directly east without a very great detour and,
after stopping at the Azores, could go north
again. Our Queen's desire was law to the gallant
captain, who immediately directed his ship to-
wards the Portuguese islands.

Fayenne, the first of these, appeared on the
morning of the sixth day. It rose out of the
ocean raising its icy peaks six thousand feet

143

144 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

above the waves. The snow which covers the tops
of these mountains enables one to appreciate
their gigantic altitude more clearly if one realizes
that the A&ores, being in the same latitude as
Lisbon, ha v e an extremely hot climate. An at-
mosphere like that of California reigns in these
islands. The sun maintains a perpetual sum-
mer.

All the passengers of the "George Washing-
ton" ran up on deck to admire this gorgeous
scene. Above the clouds clinging to the sides of
the mountains was the dazzling brightness of
perpetual snow below, the verdure of equatorial
vegetation. All day long the boat sailed in and
out of these islands, hugging the shores of forests
filled with lemon-trees, orange- trees, date-trees,
and palms. It \vas only on the morning of the
next day that we arrived at San Miguel. As the
"George Washington" drew too much water to
come any nearer to the land, smaller boats were
lowered to take the King and his sufte ashore.

What a contrast and what a charming surprise
for the eyes of travelers coming from America
was created by this Portuguese island, lost in
the Atlantic! What an enchantment to minds
weary of straight lines and uniformity was pre-

COMING HOME FROM AMERICA 145

sen ted by those little winding streets, those un-
even pavements, and those houses painted in
lurid reds and blues! Some were covered with
red roofs put on crookedly like bonnets. Lean-
ing on windowsills half shaded by blinds were
women gazing as if in a dream. Their skin was
bronze and their hair jet black. Others passed
through the streets clad in scarlet. Their hands
on their hips, they carried baskets of fruit on
their heads. Men, too, with soft felt hats, bright
ties and dark red shirts, and now and then stu-
dents who were recognized by their long waving
locks and black capes which they draped about
them like togas. All those men had their hands
in their pockets and cigarettes in their mouths.
They were idling about. One sees a great deal of
idling in tropical countries. Also how many beg-
gars were holding out their hands on all the
corners and porches! Now and then a peddler
passed by, leading his donkey. Baskets were
fastened t&each side of the puck-saddle in which
piles of bananas, pineapples, and lemons gave
the appearance of rays of sunlight. A language
warm as the sun and variegated as their cos-
tumes is spoken by these people. An odor of
moldy ale and wine was floating in the air.

146 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

Yes, wine! American laws have no jurisdiction
here. They drink wine at San Miguel. And
what wine! Virgin sanchissima! You can tell
that from their dazzling color and flaming eyes.
Wine and sun, do they not make life worth liv-
ing?

The King had landed secretly in the midst of
this population, hoping to visit the city and the
neighboring country incognito and then slip
noiselessly away. But the people of San Miguel
would not hear of it. They immediately recog-
nized their guest. What joy and bursts of en-
thusiasm went through the city! "For Dios y
todos sus santos." By God and all the saints,
the King of the Belgians was in San Miguel !

In less than two hours notices were put on all
the walls and distributed from hand to hand
reading: "A Camara Municipal d'esta citade
convida o Publico em geral a associarem-se a una
manifestacao que se realisar hoje, entre as 2 e
meia e 3 boras da tarde, nos Caes, a S. S. Mages-
tades os Reis de Belgica." (The Municipal Coun-
cil of the city invites the general public to take
part in a celebration which will take place this
afternoon between half -past two and three on the

COMING HOME FROM AMERICA 147

wharves in honor of their Majesties, the King
and Queen of Belgium). Certain notices added:
"Ornementar com bandeiras os ediflcios dos seus
estabelecimentos." (We think it proper that the
tradespeople should adorn their shops with
flags.) How superfluous was this last recom-
mendation! You should have seen the shutters
closing, the blinds being drawn and the flags
being put out! In a few moments the city was
decked with ribbons as if by a magician's wand.
Those who did not have flags adorned their
houses just the same. How? With rags, colored
rags of any shade whatsoever, provided they were
vivid and dazzling. How the beautiful women
adorned themselves for the "great celebration,"
their gala dresses covered with lace and spark-
ling jewels. I do not know if they were really
jewels, but under the tropical sun all stones are
gems as all rags are flags.

At the proper hour everybody was ready. On
the wharf from which the King was to embark a
great crowd was swarming. They were all shak-
ing hands and congratulating each other. "Maes
de Deos!" They were going to see tie King of
the Belgians!

148 WITH THE KING OF THE BELGIANS

A hundred times their overexcited imagina-
tions thought that he was in sight. Then they
greeted him frantically. Then they saw that it

was a delusion, and began to wait again.

^*

Finally, an automobile suddenly blew its horn
in the distance, and the motor in which the tall
figure of the King was recognized glided up to
the middle of the wharf. They cried out, they
shouted their greetings to him. A volley of shots
rent the air; the sirens of all the boats in the
harbor blew. For a long while the deafening
noise lasted, the "fen du brut" of Escourbanies
in all its glory.

The charming part of it was that those who
could not see the King, either because they were
drowned in the crowd or because they found
themselves pushed back of the barrier made by
the others, were most moved. I caught sight of a
fruit-peddler perched on the top of his baskets.
I do not know if he could see the King or not.
But suddenly as his eyes remained fixed on the
group where the King was, he made a deep bow,
and stretching out his arm, shook an invisible
hand in the void, made a speech, bowed again,
and went on speaking. At this very minute he

COMING HOME FROM AMERICA 149

is probably telling his family of the handshakes
given him by the King of Belgium, and the
noble words he said to him, and is shedding tears
of joy over this glorious and beautiful recollec-
tion.

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